Currently Untitled
by ImpossibleNightmare
Summary: The Doctor is about to re-enter Donna's life. Something big is happening, big enough to bring not one, but several Doctors to the scene. Doctor meet Doctor, companions meet companions, and the enemy meets enemy. Will everyone make it through? And what about Donna's memories?
1. Chapter 1

Donna Noble sighed as she parked her little blue car in the first parking spot she found empty. She'd been driving around the large lot for over fifteen minutes, unable to find an available spot in the ridiculously crowded lot.

"Honestly," she muttered darkly as she stormed from the car. "You'd think people would have better places to be then this rubbish dump." She glared up at the imposing building in front of her as if she had some kind of personal vendetta against it.

In all honesty, the building was the opposite of a rubbish dump. Sixteen floors worth of top scale luxury stood in front of her, and large panels of expensive glass gleamed like diamonds in the mid morning sun. From her position in front of the building she could see myriads of tastefully dressed people pushing their way into and out of the building, clutching briefcases filled with important documents, specially signed forms, and in one man's case, an expensively decorated violin with a large golden bow on the bridge.

Plixle was a brand new and extremely trendy new company that had started up only a few months ago. Donna had been lucky to get an employment offer from the desk of the CEO, and decided to take the job because her husband was already working there. Today was her first day on the job, and it had so far been a terrible morning.

Walking forward in what she hoped appeared a confident manner, Donna joined the flow of wealthy people heading in through the expensive glass doors at the front of the building. Donna felt herself glancing over her shoulder, an immense sensation of déja vu growing in her gut.

A young woman with dark hair bumped into her. "Oh, sorry," she said before disappearing back into the crowd without a second look.

"Oi!" Donna shouted after her, but the woman had vanished. "People these days," Donna muttered darkly to herself.

"Can I help you?" A beaming woman with too mich lipstick appeared at her sight, quickly falling into step with the ginger headed woman, clearly thinking she was a potential client.

"Excuse me, but I work here," she told the smiling woman bluntly.

The woman, if possible, beamed even wider. _She has really white teeth,_ Donna noticed. "You must be Donna Noble!" She extended one of her pale and slim hands. Her fingers were long and spidery and covered in large rings. When Donna did not take her hand, she let it drop.

"I'm Kiara Washington, Vice President of the company," she said. She produced a business card and showed it to Donna. "As you can see, I'm rather important around here." Her tone was light and friendly but she sounded threatening.

Donna felt a gnawing feeling growing in her gut as she squinted at the business card in the lipsticked woman's hand. "It's blank," she said.

The woman glanced at the card, her expression one of confusion. "What? Don't be silly. First day jitters getting the best of you, I see. Come, Donna. I'll take you to meet your new co-workers. You're temping for Dr. Pollard, I presume. Right this way."

Kiara swept off. Donna found no other option but to follow, as she was very lost in the large and luxurious building. "I do _not_ have first day jitters," she said, highly offended, before hurrying to catch up with the woman.

"We may be a new company," said Kiara, as a way of beginning a tour of the facility, "but we have grown successful in the three months we've had business. As you can see, we provide only the best for our clients and employees."

She gestured to the modern waiting room where clients were waiting to speak with someone about pressing matters. Multitudes of waitresses and waiters wearing smartly fitted gray uniforms walked around attending to the needs of the waiting people quickly and efficiently.

"Would you like something to drink, Donna," asked Kiara. "No? All right then. Marcy," she called to one of the waitresses, a girl cur,y red locks, "do you mind getting me my normal? I'm afraid my back pains have started acting up again."

"Of course, Mistress Washington," said Marcy, and Donna did a double take.

"Why does she sound like a robot?" she inquired as the robotic sounding girl seemed to glide away.

"Don't be silly," Kiara responded. "They aren't robots. And they keep calling us all mistress! It's really quite annoying, if you ask me." She ignored Donna's mutter of, "Nobody did," as she continued. "We hire only the best of the best. The two hundred waiters and waitresses have gone to specialized colleges. I know that may sound petty, but we want to provide the best services. For everyone. Ah, thank you, Marcy."

The waitress had returned with a cup of vile looking green liquid. Donna watched as Kiara took the glass and downed it in one gulp.

"What is that," the red headed woman asked as Kiara shuddered and handed the glass back to Marcy. "Just a little pick-me-up. Off you go now, Marcy."

"Yes, Mistress Kiara," Marcy said in an iron voice. She glided away. Donna eyed her suspiciously, but before she could turn to see if any of the other attendants spoke in the same manner, Kiara was leading the way the lifts.

"Recently we updated our lift system," Kiara continued as she pressed a button to call the lift. "Before we only had three lifts, but with the business demands, we had to vastly expand our work forces, and the old number of three lifts just didn't work for the average number of three thousand we get per day."

"Three thousand people," Donna said, impressed. "That doesn't surprise me."

Kiara ignored her comment. "Dr. Pollard is the head of the Health branch. Health is on floor sseben, but like all Department Heads, Dr. Pollard has his own office on the sixteenth floor. The uppermost levels are only for Department Heads and our monthly most successful employees. You may not go there without the express permission of one of them. I'm sorry, but professional rules, as you must understand. Work hard, and you'll be promoted quickly."

The lift arrived, and the two climbed aboard quickly. "Floor seven, please," Kiara said. "These lifts have the newest technology. No buttons. Instead, they take voice commands. Special voice recognition software allows only employees to give orders. With such a large facility, it wouldn't do to have clients wandering around."

She smiled at Donna, but it looked like she was grimacing. "Your voice has been added."

Now the doors opened. As they headed out, a man with a roguish grin and a cocky air to him entered the elevator. "Ladies," he said. Donna eyed him. She felt that she knew him from somewhere, but couldn't quite place his face. The lift doors closed, and his eyes, which held hers for a brief moment, flashed briefly with surprise before they vanished.

Kiara began to tell Donna information that was probably very crucial to temping for Dr. Pollard, but Donna wasn't listening. She kept thinking about the feeling that had grown and was still growing, the feeling lodged in her gut, begging to be listened to. But she knew if she listened to it, she would think it crazy. Because her gut was saying she had been to this building before, and that she had seen that man before, and that something very big was happening around her. Something big that she used to be a part of, but could no longer be. Like she could only witness what might unfurl, or as if she were dreaming and had no control of her conscious.

That was how her life had felt for several years now. It was as if she had woken up from a deep and vivid dream, but then she'd forgotten everything. All the things that she'd seen in such clarity, the things she's witnessed, themoments she'd experienced...gone. Vanished into darkness, distorted beyond recognition like a wet painting that had been doused with water.

And Donna went about living her life, waiting for the missing puzzle piece to return from wherever it had gone. Well, she assumed there was a big puzzle piece. She hoped there was. It would make her life more interesting than what it was. She had a feeling she'd been to different planets, but couldn't decide if it had actually happened or if it was just her wishful thinking. Surely, if she had gone to other worlds, she'd remember?

"...Adipose Industries," Kiara was saying. The name jerked Donna back to reality.

"Excuse me, what did you say? About Adipose Industrues, or whatever you called it?" Donna cut Kiara off.

"Oh, thing much about it," said Kiara with a smile. Her lipstick had smeared slightly. "Just that this building has been empty for several years now, since the whole thing with Adipose Industries." She stopped talking for a moment. "Such a shame they went out of business. They were quite a promising company. But we're not about weight loss. We're about gain. For everyone, of course. We plan to go international in two months are so, so we can share efficiency and quality with the rest of the world."

Donna's gut feeling increased. _Go away,_ she told it.

Kiara touched her teeth with one of her long and perfectly manicured nails. "Oh my," she said. "I've been away from my work for far too long. My apologies that I must leave abruptly, but it shouldn't be difficult to find your office. Just keep going down the hallway. The Health waiting room is right around the corner. You should talk to. Bernice, and she can show you to your new office if you need any assistance. But you're a smart one, aren't you, Donna? Given exposure, you're practically a sea of knowledge, human and...inhuman."

Donna snorted. "I'm about as intelligent as anyone, thank you very much. Now, pop to it. I'm sure you have some very important Vice President-y stuff you've got to be doing."

Kiara gave her an indecipherable look. "Yes, I'd better 'pop to it' as you say." She began to walk back to the lifts, her designer heels making crisp clicking noises against the polished wood floors. She called for a lift, and it promptly arrived. One last time she turned to look at Donna. "How long do you think you'll be staying with us, Donna Noble?" she asked.

"Even I haven't figured that out yet," Donna replied provocatively.

"Well, you've ,add the right choice working here, and we're glad to have hired you," said Kiara in a rehearsed happy tone. Her eyes glinted almost maliciously, and then she stepped onto the lift and was gone.

"Thank god," Donna muttered to herself. "Didn't like her at all. Too much lipstick. And her teeth are too white. And no, I'm not jealous of her white teeth. Bernice. Find Bernice. What kinda name is Bernice anyway?"

She passed a large group of what she assumed were clients waiting to speak to a Health specialist in a waiting room. A smiling woman with white hair sat at a mahogany desk, her supplies neatly arranged in front of her, smiling as she spoke with an older man. A gold plaque on her desk read BERNICE.

Before Donna could approach The woman, her phone began buzzing. She pulled it out in extreme annoyance and saw that it was her husband calling. Figuring she couldn't ignore him, her thumb hovered over the accept call button. It was loud where she stood. She wanted to talk somewhere private. She looked around, spotted a crowded ladies' room and an equally busy mens', and settled for the cleaning closet in between the two.

Once she was safely in the peaceful quietness that was the closet, she put the phone to her ear. "What do you want?" she demanded of her husband.

"Just wanted to wish my beautiful wife a good morning, and good luck on her first day on the job," he responded, undeterred by her harsh tone.

Donna sighed, appreciating her husband a lot right at that very moment. "Thanks," she said. "You have an excellent day yourself."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

The call ended. Donna put the phone away and was about to turn around when she realized that there was something in the cleaning closet that wasn't supposed to be. Surrounded by mops and brooms and bottles of green cleaning solution was an object she knew very, very well but that she did not remember.

There was a glowing blue police box. And that was when Donna Noble knew for sure that something big was definitely going to happen.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I do not own Doctor Who. Chapter Two will come out soon.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

The TARDIS. Donna remembered the name for only an instant before her mind exploded with golden light. Her vision blurred and her ears filled with a buzzing noise. Her mind felt like it was burning. She briefly wondered if she was having a seizure, but then she blinked her sight back and found herself on the ground on all fours.

There was a ringing in her ears. She had a feeling that she'd come so close to fitting that missing puzzle piece back into her mind, but it had been pushed in the wrong way. What had just happened again? Right, a strange blue police box in the janitor's closet

 _I must be going insane,_ Donna thought. It seemed like the only reasonable explanation. "First day jitters," she found herself saying, and then walked out of the closet. She didn't glance back at the blue box, deciding if she didn't look at it, then it wouldn't be real.

Bernice, the woman sitting behind the desk, was currently unoccupied. The old man she'd been talking to had vanished, so Donna quickly hurried up to speak to her.

The old woman smiled up at the redhead. "If you'd like to speak to Dr. Pollard, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for just a bit," she informed.

"Honestly, why does everyone think I'm looking to buy something?" Donna huffed in annoyance.

"Oh," Bernice gasped as if she had just realized something, "you must be the new temp. Donna Noble, am I correct?"

"Actually it's Donna Temple Noble, but no one seems to care," Donna corrected.

"Ah, you're married to Shaun Temple!" Bernice trilled excitedly. "So very glad to here that. Shaun is such a pleasing man. Quite knowledgeable, too. We've had many informative talks, the two of us. You'll be celebrating your five year anniversary this spring, correct?" She went on without waiting for a reply. "But you don't want to listen to me talk right now, do you?" Bernice reached under her desk and produced a thin manila envelope. "Here's all the information you'll need to know about the job. Office number 38A. Good luck! Plexle is so glad to have you working for us! Our staff appreciates all the information it can get..."

Donna headed off without another word. She heard Bernice continue to talk to a young woman with bright red locks. "Of course, Mrs. Williams, we understand. Dr. Pollard and Dr. Jean are working quickly now, and they'll be with you in a few moments to address your concerns regarding Plexle. Now, tell me about your darling husband..."

Turning a corner, Donna came to a labyrinth of offices. The door nearest to her was labeled 1A. The one after that was 1B, and then 1C, and it seemed that the numbering went all the way up to 1Z before it finally switched to 2A.

"Are you bloody kidding me?" Donna said to no one in particular.

"Have an office in the higher numbers?" A voice asked. A blonde girl had appeared at Donna's elbow, causing her to jump. "Oh, I didn't mean to startle you!"

"You didn't startle me," Donna declared. "But yes, I have office number 38A."

The blonde girl laughed. "There are approximately six hundred workers in the Health branch here," she said. "Naturally, there will be as many offices. It's quite an inconvenience, I suppose. I wouldn't know. I've got office 1A."

Donna glared at the girl, jealous.

"My name's Jennevieve. I'm the Doctor's daughter," she said by way of introduction. For a moment Donna was very confused. The Doctor's daughter had died, hadn't she? The gnawing feeling grew more in her gut. She recalled the blue box. Something big was happening. _But I can't be part of it._

Jennevieve cleared things up for her. "Dr. Pollard is my father, and the lovely lady you met in the waiting room, Bernice, is my mother. You could say I was born to work in the Health branch here at Plexle."

Donna narrowed her eyes. "I thought the company was only a few months old."

A shifty look crossed Jennevieve's face before vanishing. "I'll show you Transport," she said. "It will help you quickly and efficiently reach your office."

She started off down the hall, heading towards one of the many polished wooden doors.

"You still haven't exactly explained what you said," Donna told the girl.

The girl narrowed her eyes at the golden doorknob of the door to office 1B. That was the only indication that she'd heard anything.

"The door labeled 1B isn't actually an office," she explained. "It's actually the Transport."

Donna asked, "What's a Transport?"

"Oh!" Jennevieve laughed. "I suppose your people would call it a lift."

"My people?"

"Ms. Washington showed you how they work?" Jennevieve dodged the question. "Voice recognition? Yes, good. Instead of asking for a floor, ask for your office number. You're work partner should already be in the office. I'll leave you to it! Have fun!"

"My people?" Donna repeated as the lift doors shut.

"How may I help you?" a female robotic voice, eerily similar to Marcy the waitress's, inquired.

"Could you tell me what the 'ell is going on here?" Donna asked in a snappish voice.

The lights in the lift dimmed. "I'm afraid I cannot be of service," said the voice in a harsh tone. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, thank you very much," Donna snapped at the voice, the further dimming of the lift going unnoticed. "You've answered all my questions. Now all you have to do is tell me why I always feel like I've forgotten something important."

"You are the Doctor-Donna," said the voice. "How may I help you?"

"What?"

"I'm afraid you have not given me enough information to provide an answer to your question," said the voice serenely. "How may I help you?"

"This whole place is crazy," Donna muttered.

I'm afraid you have not given me enough information to provide-"

"TAKE ME TO OFFICE 38A, YIU INCOMPETENT PIECE OF MACHINERY!" Donna shouted. She then felt silly for shouting at a lift.

"As you wish." The lift jolted into motion, sending Donna stumbling for her balance. "Office 38A."

" _Thank_ you," Donna said exasperatedly and waited for the doors to open. They did not. "Well, aren't you going to let me out?"

The lift lights, already dim, went out. Above Donna's head, a red siren light came on, flashing and screeching.

"Threat detected," said the voice, no longer feminine. "Information shall be extracted and danger neutralized."

"What's happening?" Donna screamed. A hypodermic needle shot from the wall to her left, almost impaling Donna.

"Threat detected. Information shall be extracted and danger neutralized," the voice repeated.

"Someone help me!" Donna shrieked.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Doctor Who. The only characters that are not part of the series are Bernice Pollard, Jennevieve Pollard, Kiara Washington, Marcy, and the two new characters in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Three

The lift door blinked open. Donna blinked, slightly dazed. Something seemed slightly off, and she couldn't tell what it was. She shrugged the feeling off. Her whole life felt like that.

 _Right,_ she reminded herself, _first day of work temping for Dr. Pollard in the Health branch at Plexle._

She walked off the lift, into the hallway, pleased to see that office number 38A was in her immediate vicinity. She opened the door.

"Finally!" she exclaimed loudly, unaware that there was someone else in the room.

The young lady sitting behind one of the two desks looked up at her and giggled. Donna felt a brief flash of embarrassment. "Oi! What're you laughing at?"

"Nothing," said the woman. "You must be my partner in crime!" She leaped up from her sitting position and came around her desk. "My name is Carnation, Carnation Schwann, and I'm your work partner!"

She said this as if this were the most exciting news ever. Donna took a moment to examine this woman. Carnation's hair was bright bubble gum pink, and she wore a bold yellow top and bright floral pants and large golden hoop earrings. Looking at her made Donna's eyes hurt.

"We're going to have so much fun working together!" Carnation went on, her smile bright. "This is my first day on the job. Is it yours? Really? Well, we can both figure things out here together! I can show you how to keep track of all the clients we get every day, and also..." she trailed off, breathless with excitement. "Ooh, what's your name?"

Donna clomped over to her desk and sat down heavily. Her work partner was giving her a headache already. She massaged her temples as Carnation immediately came over to sit on her desk.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Carnation chirped. "I'm just so excited, and I always come off as extra chipper, so I must be driving you absolutely bonkers! That's understandable. My twin sister Hyacinth really doesn't like me for that exact reason. She wasn't thrilled when she found out we'd be working in the same department. Do you like my hair? I was really excited to get a job here, considering all other possible employers turned me down because of my pink hair. But you like it, right? I tried to convince Hyacinth to dye her hair purple, but she wouldn't. So disappointing. She says she wants to be as little like me as possible, and I told her that's fine, and that there's only one of me in the whole world!"

"And thank god for that," Donna muttered. She turned her attention away from the loud girl and instead logged on to the computer in front of her.

"Can I help you with anything?" Carnation asked, leaning over Donna's shoulder. Donna leaned away from her.

"No," Donna snapped. "I think I can manage just fine, thanks."

Carnation shrugged, not looking the least bit upset. "That's fine! I totally understand how you feel right now. First day on the job, you want to seem like an expert, am I right?"

"No."

"If you say so!" the pink-haired girl got off the desk and hurried to sit behind her own. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, and Donna sighed internally with relief, hoping the girl had been distracted. She was wrong, as Carnation turned back to her. "I'm busy filling in health reports for sixty clients that visited yesterday. Do you want to help? Here's a list. It's not that hard. Just log onto the system, click the health branch, click the-"

"I got it, thanks," Donna said. She checked the clock in the upper corner of her computer screen and sighed out loud. It was ten thirty. "Back to the grind."

For the past year, Donna had bounced around from one place to the next, trying to decide where she wanted to work permanently. But nothing really appealed to her. She found that she was unable to sit at a desk and do the business that was expected of her. It was too boring, too domestic. She was restless. She wanted to be out exploring the world-the universe, really, if that was possible. She wanted to see things that no other human had seen before. She was tired of expectations and reality.

Whenever she thought about exploration, or anything of the sort, a soaring feeling opened up in her stomach. She could remember a strange noise, a kind of whirring or grinding of brakes, that she couldn't quite place but that for some reason she associated with excitement, adventure, and new possibilities. When she saw the color blue, she couldn't help but feel energy course through her veins. And something earlier today had incited hope into her, but she couldn't remember what it had been...

She looked over the list of names and the reports for each respective person that she was supposed to copy down onto a file on the computer. Teresa Abbott. Lucas Bergen. Jack Dylan. Amethyst Jones. Tyler Llerandi. Martin Smith...

Names that she didn't recognize floated into her conscious. Jack Harkness. Martha Jones. Rose Tyler. Jenny. John Smith.

She realized that she had written these names into Teresa Abbott's health file. She also promptly realized that once words were written, there was no way of deleting them. "Oh, that's just lovely," Donna informed the computer. "If you aren't going to let me delete anything, then why is there a delete button on the keyboard?"

Carnation was at her side at an instant, as if she'd been waiting for any kind of invitation to come over. "Oh, did you make a mistake? Don't worry, I make lots of those, all the time! And you know, a lot of times there aren't any do-overs to fix those mistakes! So you know what I tell myself? Oh, I know you'll say you don't know what I tell myself, so I'll tell you! I tell myself to imagine that I have a whiteboard, and the mistake I made was written on the whiteboard in erasable marker, and that's okay, because I can erase that marker and start anew, and the second time I attempt to do something, I have permanent marker, and if I make a mistake this time, I can't erase it! This encourages me to do my best. See? Isn't that a great analogy?"

"No," Donna said.

Carnation frowned. "Yeah, I guess it could use some work. It doesn't really make sense, does it? But the point is, everyone makes mistakes!"

"How does that help me?" Donna indicated the names written in Teresa Abbott's file.

"You could talk to Dr. Pollard, and ask him to erase any mistakes you make," Carnation said. "I'm not exactly sure why they've disable the delete feature, but I know that Plexle is obsessed with getting as much information as it can. Maybe they don't want to delete any potential source of information."

"Perhaps," Donna said, narrowing her eyes. She felt like she needed to do something, like she needed to investigate. _Donna Noble, Health and Safety,_ a voice sang in her mind.

Something buzzed.

"Oh!" Carnation trilled excitedly. "That's probably Bernice!" She hurried over to her desk and moved the phone on it over so that Donna could reach it from her seat. Carnation continued, "We probably are going to get to speak with a client! She notifies us when a client is about to come in. Isn't this super exciting!"

"I suppose," Donna said. "What're we supposed to do?"

"Well, we aren't really a big deal in the Health department," Carnation said, giggling madly. "All we're supposed to do is take down some basic information about the customers, and then find out why they'd like to speak with a Health specialist, and then try to set up a tentative appointment for them!"

Donna frowned. "So all those people in the waiting room are only waiting to speak with people like us, so that they can get an actual appointment with people like Dr. Pollard, where they'll wait even more?"

Carnation beamed. "Yes! I'm glad you understand, because it took me forever to figure things out here! Plexle is such a big company, and I'm so honored to be working for them! And because it's such a big company, there's a lot of processes that we have to go through to help our clients!"

"That seems neither quick, nor efficient," Donna remarked.

"It's totally quick and efficient," Carnation protested. The phone buzzed again. "Ooh, our clients are about to come in!" She assumed a very formal position, her back stiff, her legs crossed, and her hands folded over each other and placed neatly on the desk. She smiled widely, trying to appear welcoming. "Do I look okay?" she asked through her smile.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Like an angel."

As Carnation waited in this pose, unmoving, Donna continued to enter information about Teresa Abbott into the computer, ignoring the random names that she'd accidentally written earlier. She moved on to Lucas Bergen.

"What's taking them so long?" Carnation complained, still unmoving. Her eyes flitted to look at the analog clock on the wall above the door. "It's been five minutes!"

"It takes a while to get here," Donna replied without looking up from her work.

Not a moment after saying this, the door opened. Two people, a man and a woman, entered the office.

A strange feeling overtook Donna as she glanced up at the visitors. Her fingers faltered in her typing, and she saw that Lucas's file now contained a bunch of gibberish.

The man was tall and skinny, with spiky brownish hair and sideburns, a timeless face, and a brown pinstriped suit and converse sneakers. The woman was pretty and dark-skinned with dark hair, which was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a tan leather jacket over a black shirt and black jeans, and she looked a bit disgruntled, as if she didn't really want to be where she was at that moment.

There was a moment of silence in which Donna and the man and woman looked at each other in surprise. Carnation still held her beaming pose.

The woman looked at the man, mouthing opening to speak, but he held up his hand and then strode forward.

"Good morning to you all," he said, extending his hand to Carnation.

Carnation took it eagerly and giggled in a very unprofessional manner. "Hello," she said, her voice high pitched and flirtatious.

Donna rolled her eyes. There was no way that woman could get more annoying.

"Have a seat," Donna commanded the two new-comers. Both pulled up chairs close to the desks without speaking.

"Name?" Donna said briskly.

"Um, Martha Jones," said the woman.

"Don't sound so sure," Donna retorted.

"Don't be rude to the clients!" Carnation trilled, not taking her eyes of the man in the suit.

"Name?" Donna directed the question to him.

"Name? Oh, John. John Smith," he said.

Again, Donna's fingers froze over the keyboard. John Smith. But it couldn't be...

"Everything okay?" asked the man after a full minute had passed and still Donna had not spoken.

"Gimme a minute," she said, going back to Teresa Abbott's health file.

Carnation giggled madly. "She's new on the job! Probably confused and not going to admit it! When I tried to help her this morning, she nearly bit my finger off! She's quite a feisty one, if you ask me, but I'm glad for that! I need someone around with an attitude and who doesn't mind my talkative personality. My sister Hyacinth once told me..."

Donna tuned her annoying workmate out, and moved her finger along the list of names she'd written on the file by mistake. Jack Harkness. Martha Jones. Rose Tyler. Jenny. John Smith. Yes. John Smith. And Martha Jones.

Perhaps it was only a coincidence?

"John Smith?" she repeated, cutting across Carnation's babbling. "And Martha Jones? Is this kind of trick?"

But how could it be a trick? She didn't even know whose names these were!

The man, John Smith, had narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean, a trick?"

Something trickled in the back of Donna's mind. She narrowed her eyes right back at him. _Spaceman,_ the voice in the back of her mind said.

Her head was hurting. The burning sensation she'd experienced earlier today had returned. She brushed it aside.

"I remember you," she told him. "I remember you, Spaceman."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who theme music.

Again I do not own Doctor Who. I hope this was an enjoyable chapter to read! This is my first Doctor Who fanfiction, so we'll see how it goes.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Four

 _"I remember you, Spaceman."_

John Smith had a sad look on his face, and then closed his expression off. It was one Donna recognized well. One she'd seen the last time she'd met him. She knew him, she could remember him. She knew that his name wasn't really John Smith. He had a different one he went by, but her mind glossed over it, and she couldn't recall what it was. _Spaceman. Skinny boy in a suit._

She had a strong urge to hug him, but resisted it, partially because she still saw him as a stranger, and partially because not only did Martha look extremely shaken, but John looked immensely angry. He had jumped out of his chair, pulling his companion to his feet. He refused to look at Donna, as if frightened that something would happen if he did.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped, his voice cracking.

"Where are you going?" Carnation asked in alarm, fixing wide and dopey eyes on John as he and Martha scampered towards the door.

"I'm afraid we have business elsewhere," John said coldly, fixing a glare on Donna's work partner.

"I'm so sorry!" Carnation apologized, although for what Donna wasn't sure. "If it's Donna, I know she comes off rather harsh, but she really doesn't mean it-"

"You have known me for less than an hour," Donna interrupted. "I don't see how you can know me very well."

She was ignored, much to her annoyance.

"If you want, I can take in your information and get you set up with Dr. Pollard or Dr. Jean," Carnation continued, her eyes shining desperately. "Please don't leave! You're my very first clients, and I want to do the best I can!" She looked at Donna, her eyes strangely unfriendly and cold. "Shoo, now! I've got these clients perfectly under control!"

Donna glared at Carnation, extremely annoyed. "Excuse me, but I don't really understand where you get off ordering me around like that."

Carnation's hostility increased. Donna couldn't help but wonder where the chirpy, annoying, but definitely more welcoming woman had disappeared to. It seemed that she was very competitive when it came to business, although it hadn't seemed that way earlier, or perhaps possessed.

"I said shoo, Ms. Noble," Carnation repeated.

Donna rolled her eyes in exasperation. It was eleven o'clock anyways, a bit early for lunch, but not a strange hour to eat at. Might as well get away from the office and away from Carnation and away from Martha Jones and John Smith, the skinny Spaceman in a suit who she remembered but for some reason couldn't remember why.

"It's Mrs. Temple, actually," Donna snapped at Carnation before exiting the office, making sure to brush against John Smith, who jumped in an extremely satisfying way at the contact.

Donna didn't bother with the lift. Even though it would take a while to get back to 1A and the waiting room, she wanted some time alone, in one of the few quiet places at Plexle, to think about everything that had just happened. Additionally, she felt as if something bad had happened last time on the lift that had taken her to her office, 38A, but as it always seemed with Donna Temple Noble's life, she couldn't remember what.

The thing in the cleaning closet, she couldn't remember anymore. She knew she'd recognized it, but she couldn't remember why, and she now found that she couldn't remember what it had been and what it had looked like. Whatever had happened in the elevator, she couldn't remember either. She remembered a stab of panic, and then the doors opening and a dazed feeling settling over her senses, but nothing about what had caused it or the fear. And she remembered John Smith. She knew he was important, not only to her, but to all of Earth, perhaps the entire universe. He'd saved her, and she had saved him, dozens of times, but from what, or why, or from whom, she didn't know. She didn't know anything.

It was frustrating.

So caught up in her frustration, Donna didn't notice a pair of stairs leading down from the floor with office numbers 20A-40Z leading down to offices 1A-19Z, and promptly fell down them.

"OI!" she shouted when she landed at the bottom. She got up, brushing herself off and feeling extremely disoriented, and turned to glare accusingly at the steps before realizing it would be difficult to be angry at them.

"That looked painful." Donna turned to see Jennevieve Pollard standing behind her, doing her best not to erupt into laughter. "Quite a spectacle, if you ask me."

"I was lost," Donna said.

"Yes, it's quite a big place," Jennevieve said agreeably.

"No, not lost here, lost in thought," Donna corrected.

"Oh," Jennevieve said. An unreadable look crossed her face. "What were you thinking about, that caused you to be so distracted?"

Donna sighed, her shoulders slumping, feeling uncharacteristically defeated and vulnerable. "My life."

"Deep," Jennevieve smirked. A note of laughter had crept back into her voice.

"I don't appreciate you making fun of me," Donna snapped, her hopelessness momentarily vanishing. "Just because you've got a perfect life thanks to your big successful daddy and mummy doesn't mean you need to taunt me about my not-so-perfect one."

Jennevieve sobered immediately. "Oh no, I didn't mean to come off that way. Please, tell me about all the problems in your not-so perfect life."

The helpless feeling descended back onto the ginger. She sighed again, leaning against the wall before sliding down to sit on the bottom stair. Jennevieve came to sit down next to her.

Donna began. "Do you ever feel like there's something more out there? Like there are other living things out there in space, beyond the our solar system, beyond the galaxy?"

A guarded look took residence on the other woman's face. "What do you mean? Are you suggesting there could be alien races out there?"

Donna shrugged. "I dunno. I just feel like there's something more. The universe is so big. I know it, not only because of science and astronomy and all that lot, but also because...well, this is going to sound ridiculous..."

"Don't be silly," Jennevieve smiled. "You could never be ridiculous."

"Well, I just feel like I know how big the universe is because I've seen it," Donna rushed on. "Seen all of it. And there's no way that Earth can be the only inhabited planet out there. There must be other forms of life, other worlds, other planets, just like ours, or very different."

Jennevieve's features hardened. "Perhaps. But I think humans are most certainly the farthest developed."

"How would you know?" Donna asked. "I get the feeling that I've met others, aliens. I get the feeling that I've saved worlds. I think I've seen things and been places no other human has seen or been before."

The other woman looked eager at this. "Really? What have you seen? What do you know?"

Donna sighed once more before looking up at Jennevieve. "That's just the problem. I can't remember. If I really have been to all the places I feel like I have, I can't remember a single detail. At least, when I try."

Jennevieve's excitement disappeared. "Interesting. But surely, if you truly have seen all these remarkable places as you believe you have, you wouldn't have forgotten?"

"That's what I thought too," Donna agreed. "Except somehow I have. And I think that if I remember, it would kill me...And Jennevieve...I don't know why I'm telling you this, but today I saw someone I don't think I was supposed to see. Someone who took me on all these adventures and then took away my memories..."

The blonde woman sprang up, a startled look on her face. For a moment she looked frantic. "I'd better go, Donna. It was excellent speaking with you, but important business to attend to, you know. Just remember, Donna, your knowledge is infinitely vaster than you can possibly imagine. Keep thinking, and perhaps you'll remember more."

And with that, the other was gone, and Donna was left feeling like she had just said something she shouldn't have.

* * *

The cafeteria at Plexle was, as expected, luxurious, top of the line, ultra modern, and any other synonym of those phrases. She went ahead and bought some yogurt and a sandwich for lunch, and then got a cherry soda from the drink cooler.

She sat down, watching the gray uniformed waiters intently. None came her way, and strangely, the people sitting around her when she arrived quickly cleared out, so all of the waiters remained out of hearing range, much to her disappointment. She could find the robotic Marcy nowhere, and Kiara Washington had also vanished, presumably to work on whatever important business she had as Vice President.

Donna had not been eating long when a young man with a ridiculous mop of brown hair appeared in front of hear, talking quietly with another man with an odd nose. She watched them intently for several minutes, trying to discern their words unsuccessfully. Then, as if sensing the intensity of her gaze, the man wearing the bowtie and his suit looked up at her in surprise. Upon seeing her, his mouth dropped open.

"Donna Noble?"

* * *

 **Author's** **Note:**...Cue Doctor Who theme...another chapter posted! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I was super busy and unable to update any of my fanfiction. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Again, I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters. The only characters who aren't from the series are Carnation and Hyacinth Schwann, Marcy the Robot Waiter, Jennevieve Pollard, Dr. Pollard and his wife Bernice, and Kiara Washington. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Doctor Who.

This chapter will be a little different, as it will not pick up from where the last chapter left off. It's from a different point of view. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Five

The doors of the Transporter dinged, and the young woman stepped off. Her high heels clicked on the tiled ground. Her chest was heaving, as if she'd just run a long distance in an extremely short amount of time. Her blonde hair was messy, and she wiped sweat from her brow. Despite her state, she wasted not a second as she set off at a brisk pace down a glass hallway, not pausing to catch her breath. On her face was an eager and hopeful smile.

On either side of her, the glass walls of the hallway revealed the inner workings of the many offices of the floor. Men and women dressed in neat suits sat studiously at desks, eyes glued to their computer screens as their fingers flew over keyboards, taking down as much information as they possibly could in the shortest amount of time. Any information was vital to the existence of the race. Knowledge was power.

The blonde woman didn't glance into any of these offices as she sped down the hallway swiftly, barely glancing at any of the others who passed her. She would likely be punished later for not showing respect to her seniors, but at that moment she was too distracted by the news she bore. Surely the Brain would promote her for what she knew! No others had been successful in bringing the information the Brain had craved since they'd started their newest plot on Earth.

And she, the inexperienced, naïve, clueless, stupid, daughter of a highly esteemed Wise One, was the one to find out first!

Her pace quickened. She'd left the windowed office hallway and was now in the Gathering Information Department of their main control center. Several of the workers from the earthen company they'd created were strapped to dentist-office-like seats, metal bands around their foreheads. Specially trained Gatherers sat near them, sitting at digital controls, hooking wires up to the metal bands around the humans' forehead. Every few moments, a silvery light pulsed from the metal, causing the human wearing it to jolt as if electrified.

Humans that had made it through this gathering process were then helped up from the chairs, given a quick check-over to ensure that the gathering had not damaged a part of them that was not meant to be affected, and then given gray uniforms to put on in exchange for the clothes they were wearing. The earthen clothes the humans were clad in were immediately taken off to the Inspection Department for analysis. Anything to help them glean more information about the alien human race that they would some day control.

Continuing her path, she soon left the Gathering Information Department and turned into a five-way intersection. She took the middle-most path straightforward, and entered a hallway lined with deep purple carpet. The walls were beige, a color she didn't particularly like much and didn't go well with the purple flooring. She was faced with a silent hallway of offices identical to all those down in the company below. Closed polished mahogany doors flashed by in her peripheral vision along with gleaming brass office numbers, but she didn't pay attention to them, intent on her target.

Office 1A did not have a mahogany door, but rather a heavy metal iron one. Anyone who wished to enter had to present an ID card as well as evidence of their relation to the Brain. 1A hardly counted as an office, either. It was more of a control room, filled with millions of computer containing the many documents of information they had gathered in the past three months. At each of them sat someone who was constantly clicking through the information, analyzing its contents with extreme efficiency before sorting it into separate folders to be sent to various departments to be further analyzed.

Analyzing data and exploiting its use was an extremely complicated process involving myriads of workers. Anything knowledge was important, and could play a possibly critical role at any point. The Brain had developed an ingenious device that prevented anything on a computer from being deleted, and this was at once installed into every computer in the company below. This virus in all of computers had been an immediate success; suddenly, they were gaining ten times the amount of knowledge they'd gotten per day. Their knowledge was increasing rapidly; soon, they would know everything.

In the center of the room of computers was the main one. It was about the size of four desktop computers, and it monitored every single living being, both in the company below, and the main control base that only they, and no human, knew about. At it sat an old man, flipping through the many screens, pausing a few moments to study the happenings on camera, before switching to the next shot. His eyes were bloodshot from staring at the screen for so long, and his back hunched with age. Attendants dressed in gray uniforms stood attentively around him, ready to bring him anything he needed so that he could continue his watching without interruption.

She cleared her throat. The attendants immediately turned to look at her, thinking their service was needed. The old man took his sweet time in turning to face her after clicking through several more screens.

"Father," she said when she was sure she had his undivided attention.

"I am the Brain. I do not appreciate disturbances. This better be important, -," he said severely. He said her name, but her name was a sequence of sounds for which there were no letters to express it in the English language, more of a high-pitched song than words.

"Oh, it is," she said, smiling. "If you'll turn to Screen 84 Department B Floor Section 334, you'll see what I'm talking about."

With a highly suspicious look, the Brain turned back to the screen. "I am the Brain," he reminded his daughter with his back to her. He searched up the screen requested, and immediately he was greeted with a view of two empty desks and an equally empty office.

"And what exactly is so important and exciting about an empty room?" the man sighed, exasperated. "Unless you're trying to tell me that our attempts in hiring Donna Temple Noble have failed yet again."

"They've succeeded!" the girl trilled in excitement.

The Brain frowned. "Kiara failed to inform me of this. I assigned her reception duty and excused her from her post of Vice President temporarily..."

"Well, humans are so incompetent," the girl said with a shrug. "I know the office is empty now, but please, if you'll go back to ten-thirty or so...isn't that when Mother contacted you about the visitors?"

"My wife hasn't spoken to me in over three hundred years," the old man snapped. "It's a miracle I managed to get her to work as the receptionist for the Health Department." But again he complied with his daughter, rewinding the video feed on the screen to ten-thirty.

Now there were two woman on the screen. One, with ridiculously pink hair and an equally ridiculous outfit on, sat in a straight-backed position, grinning eagerly at the door. The other, a ginger, sat typing studiously at the computer.

"Is that...?" the old man trailed off, squinting at the redhead.

"Donna Noble!" squeaked the blonde excitedly. "And there's more!"

A few moments later, two new people entered the office.

"He introduces himself as John Smith," the girl said excitedly. "And, earlier, Donna Noble typed several names, possibly on accident, into one of her client's account. Here." She handed her father a sheet of paper that contained the names Donna had written down and hadn't been able to delete. "Oh, Father, you're invention that prevents deletion is absolutely fantastic! Because, if you notice, those names, when entered in the system, come up with a relation to the one we're looking for."

Her father glared at her again. "You don't mean to tell me that you, -, my incompetent, useless, inexperienced, naïve, and utterly stupid daughter, were the first one to realize that he'd come?"

"I do, Father," the girl breathed, ignoring the words he'd used to describe her. "Father, I found him. And just to make it official and confirm, why don't you type those names into the system and find who they match up with?"

Her father did just that. On the one hand, the Brain wanted the months of searching to be over. He wanted to know that he'd finally done something to get noticed by the one he'd wanted to find his operation. On the other, the Brain didn't want his daughter to have been the one to have found their man. It would mean admitting she'd finally done something right. And if there was one thing the Brain never was, he was never wrong. His knowledge was too vast to be wrong.

The search results came up, confirming what the woman had believed from the beginning.

"I did it," she said, excited. She caught her mistake. " _We_ did it. We found him. The Doctor has been located at last."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Cue Doctor Who theme.

Obviously, this chapter was not told from Donna's point of view...sorry! But this does give the first real glimpse of the potential enemy Donna, the Doctors, and the companions are going to face! I hope I wasn't too obvious about some mysteries in the last few chapters. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I hope I wasn't too obscure...

I really appreciate any feedback! Reading reviews makes my day. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Six

 _"Donna Noble?"_

Donna looked to the man, suspicious. Something about him reminded her intensely of the man John Smith, but she couldn't place his familiarity. Being the straightforward ginger she was, she said briskly, "And you are?"

The eccentric man in the bowtie had come up to her table, his weird-nosed companion close at hand. Hearing her ask that caused him to do a double take, but he quickly recovered. "Ah, my name," he said, as if he'd heard of names before but never really thought about them. "Hmm, what's a good name? Do you know a good name?" he asked his companion.

"I quite like my name," said the companion. "Ro-"

"Aha!" yelped the eccentric man in the bowtie. "I know a good name! The best name! Geronimo! Hmm, but I can't be Geronimo, because then I can't say Geronimo, Geronimo! So," he turned to his companion, "you are Geronimo."

"No I'm not," the man said, and Donna pitied him. The brown-haired man in the bowtie seemed to be a bit bossy, and she was glad she didn't have to deal with him.

"Yes, you are," said the bowtie man. "You are Geronimo. You should be glad you're named Geronimo. It's quite an excellent name, if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you," said Geronimo, and then added under his breath, "First it's the last name. Now it's the first."

"That's Geronimo!" said the man in the bowtie, waving his hands ecstatically in the direction of Geronimo. "Tell him, Donna, isn't that an excellent name?"

Donna didn't reply. She thought maybe she should leave as quickly as possible. This guy was starting to scare her.

"No, no, no, don't go!" the man protested when she began to get up. "You haven't finished your yogurt yet! All though, I don't blame you. Yogurt is almost worse than pears. Fish fingers and custard, I tell you. That's the best food on the planet." He allowed himself to daydream, likely about fish fingers and custard, for a few moments before coming back to earth. He pulled up a chair at the table Donna sat at without asking, causing his companion to sigh in exasperation and massage his temples. Geronimo looked used to dealing with his friend.

"So, my name," said the bowtie man. "Well, I can't tell you that. But you can call me..." he hesitated for a few moments, before his whole face lit up in a too-wide smile, his eyes blazing with what Donna thought was insanity. She edged her chair away, but was unsuccessful in escaping once more. "You can call me Matt Smith! Oh, what an excellent name! I don't know why I think it's so great. It's really quite a simple and boring name, if you ask me, but I like it. It's better than Geronimo."

"You just said Geronimo was the best name," complained Geronimo, but he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Matt.

"Excuse me, you two," Donna said, now feeling fully uncomfortable with two male strangers sitting at the table with her. "But no one invited you to sit down."

"I have something very important to ask you," said Matt, clapping his hands together and rubbing them together fervently.

"My mum said to never talk to strangers," Donna said.

"And since when have you ever listened to her?" Matt asked. "You never liked her that much."

"How would you know?" Donna retorted. "I love my mum with all my heart! She just gets in the way sometimes...occasionally...a lot."

"I've missed you," Matt said.

"I've never met you or seen you before today," Donna snapped. "How can you miss me if you've never known me?" But as she said this, she felt like he was telling the truth. This man was somehow involved with her past, the past she couldn't remember anyway. A tiny bit of her vast Doctor-Donna knowledge crept into her mind. _Time Lords. Time Lords have twelve regenerations. This is a future incarnation of John_ _Smith._

Matt sighed. "My question, Donna," he continued, not acknowledging her question. "Have you noticed anything...odd around here?"

Geronimo snorted next to him. "The day you go somewhere without anything odd happening is the day I'm a Williams again."

Matt shook his head. "You'll always be a pond, Geronimo. But my question, Donna, have you?"

Donna leaned forward. She had no intention of sharing any information with him. "The only thing odd I've noticed around here is _you_."

She quickly leapt to her feet and hurried away, not bothering to pick up her trash in her haste to escape. Glancing only once over her shoulder, she saw Geronimo attempting to drag a crestfallen Matt away from the table.

"People these days," Donna said under her breath. But she thought about what Matt had said. Anything odd? Oh, yes, there was plenty of odd stuff going on around Plexle. Anyone could see that. There was Kiara, the woman who'd had mysterious back pains and taken that strange and toxic looking medicinal drink and who'd given Donna her tour. There was Marcy the waitress, who spoke and moved like a robot. There was Jennevieve, who was very nice and all, but seemed a bit off all the time. There was that strange thing she'd encountered in the cleaning closet on the Health floor, and the strange fact that she couldn't remember what it had been. There was whatever had happened on the elevator, that she also couldn't recall. There was Carnation, who was the definition of odd. There were John Smith and Martha Jones who she knew but didn't know why. There was the company of Plexle itself, which seemed odd and unnatural and too big.

So yes, you could say something was very odd about the entire place.

Donna wandered around the the first floor for another twenty or so minutes, not eager to return to her office above. She feared that John Smith and Martha Jones might still be in the office, but mostly she didn't want to see the endlessly annoying Carnation yet again. Perhaps she could find her husband.

Shawn worked in the Legal Department. He had only recently attained a college degree in law, having taken up a sudden interest in legal things only three years ago. As he had told Donna numerous times, he was "extremely lucky to have been offered a job at such a large and important company like Plexle." He'd also added, "Mark my words, Donna, I'll be rich and successful, come the next two years."

She had told him that she highly doubted this, but didn't mind what he did as his job so long as it made him happy.

The Legal Department was on floor twelve, so she headed to the lifts and, using the voice recognition software to order it to floor twelve. She couldn't suppress a feeling of superiority as the lift began to rise up from the lobby floor to take her to the commanded location. She felt so official!

Before reaching the twelfth floor, the lift stopped at the fourth. On climbed the man she'd seen from earlier, when she'd been aboard the lift along with Kiara Washington. The man, she recalled, had shown a brief flash of recognition when he'd seen her.

Again, upon laying eyes on her, his eyes shone with recollection before falling into a neutral and passive gaze. He smiled at her, revealing dimples and white teeth. "Greetings," he said, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She took it, but before she could give him a proper hand shake, he had held her hand up to his lips and kissed it in a very polite manner. She drew her hand away, and he immediately became very flustered. "So sorry," he apologized. "I've been trying not to greet people that way. My friends used to get very annoyed at me when I did that..." His gaze grew distant and sad, and then focused back on her and became even sadder. "But I suppose, when you're around old acquaintances, you slip into old habits..."

Donna did a double take. "Don't tell me I know you too, somehow."

He blinked at her in surprise. "Well, you knew me at one point, but it would be a miracle if you could remember that now."

She frowned at him. "Believe me, it seems I know so many people and don't know why." She rolled her eyes, both in exasperation and frustration. "Just earlier today, I encountered someone I'm very sure I knew very well, and yet I can't place his face, or remember any of the adventures we likely experienced together."

A nostalgic twinkle appeared in the man's eye. "Oh, believe me, I know that feeling. Except, I suppose, I'd rather like to forget everything I've ever experienced, every adventure. I've been to many places."

"We have the opposite problem, then," Donna said, feeling uncharacteristically sympathetic for the man in the elevator with her.

"Yes, it appears so," he replied. He looked to the ground, instead of holding her gaze, before speaking again. "Would you look at me? Having a normal conversation with Donna Noble, without her slapping me to the next planet."

Donna overlooked the 'slapping me to the next planet' expression, figuring that it was just, well, an expression. She also wasn't too surprised to hear that the stranger knew her name. It seemed only natural, although why she found it so easy to get along with this man when she felt she'd never had before and difficult to get along with the weird Matt Smith down in the cafeteria, she didn't know.

"It helps that you aren't flirting," she retorted, and then winced at the brief flash of pain that entered her skull. Where had that come from? _Flirting. This man. Kissing my hand. Immortal. Who the hell is he?_

The lift doors dinged and opened to reveal the carpeted hallway leading to the waiting room of the Legal Department. Shooting her lift companion a polite smile, she stepped out into the hallway. "It was nice talking to you, sir."

He looked up from the floor and gave her another smile with dimples and bright white teeth. "And you," he said. Just before the lift doors closed, he called out. "And I hope to talk to you again, Miss Noble. It's been a long time since I've last seen you..."

Donna didn't reply. Mostly because the doors had shut and the lift had gone to the next floor. "It's Mrs. Temple now!" she found herself yelling at the lift. _He's changed a lot,_ she thought. _He's not like he used to be._

Because Captain Jack Harkness had been through so much since he'd last seen the Doctor and any of the companions he'd known. He'd felt so much pain and loss, almost equaling the Doctor's past experiences. If the Doctor and his companions could see him now, it was likely, though he still looked as he had always looked, that they would be puzzled by how drastically his personality had changed since they'd last seen him.

It was, in fact, a little short of a miracle that Jack Harkness was at Plexle at all. After his last death, he'd promised himself that he'd settle into retirement, buy a nice home on the planet of Saphira (known for its unique blue atmosphere and nicknamed the Planet of Paradise), and live there until the universe ended. He'd still be alive after that, and he wasn't sure what would happen then.

But of course, his plan had failed, and that was why he was in the lift, talking to the Doctor's old companion Donna Noble. He needed to find out what was happening at Plexle, quickly. And he needed to do it without encountering the Doctor on the way.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Carnation pounced on Donna the moment the redhead entered office 38A.

"There you are!" she trilled excitedly, as energetic and annoying as ever. "I was wondering where you'd gone off to! Does it really take you that long to eat your lunch? Anyway, never mind that question. I really want to apologize for my behavior earlier today! It was totally out of line and rude! Just want to let you know that I was just really excited about my first client, and I didn't want them to leave...but I probably should've listened to you, because Mr. Smith and Ms. Jones were really mean to me once you left! They were all like, 'we need to leave,' and, 'we appreciate your help and everything, but it's time for us to go' and I was like, 'no, no, no, you need to stay, we haven't gotten all your information yet, I insist you remain in the office until I'm done' and they were like-" Carnation stopped, because she was running out of breath. She did not continue her story, instead finishing with, "Isn't that so rude?"

Donna popped past the pink-haired girl and sat down at her desk. Her computer had been was off, so she jiggled the mouse to wake it back off.

"Isn't that so rude?" Carnation repeated, clearly determined to get a response.

"So rude," Donna agreed sarcastically.

"I know, right!" Carnation bubbled ecstatically, plopping herself down on Donna's desk. "I'm so glad someone agrees with me!"

"Don't you have work to be doing?" Donna asked, eyeing Carnation's seating choice unhappily.

Carnation waved this fact off. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it. What're you doing?"

"Working," Donna replied drily.

"So boring!" Carnation sighed dramatically. "Come with me and get some lunch."

"I just had lunch," Donna said.

"Oh, have it again!" Carnation insisted.

The files of paper that had contained the information of clients that Donna had had earlier had vanished. She searched the drawers of her desk, unable to find them.

"What're you looking for?" Carnation inquired, swinging off of the desk and coming around to the other side, where Donna was.

"Nothing," Donna said, standing up straight and looking annoyed. How could she have lost that information? It had been on her desk when she left.

"Are you looking for that folder of client information?" Carnation asked, as if reading the ginger's mind.

"Um, yes, actually," was Donna's reply. "Do you know where it went? Did you take it?"

As if greatly offended, Carnation put her hands up as if she were surrendering. "Why are you blaming me? Do you really think I stole that folder? That's so rude!"

"I don't think you stole it," Donna replied snappishly, rubbing her temples. A massive, Carnation-induced headache was coming on. "I was asking if you'd seen it."

"I'll tell you something," Carnation whispered, as if whatever it was she knew was a great secret. Her offense dissipated as she leaned forward so that she was almost touching Donna's nose.

"Oi!" Donna yelled. "You don't need to get so close! I'm not deaf, you know. What do you need to tell me?"

"Mr. Smith took your folder!" Carnation announced.

"Really?" asked Donna in disbelief. "Well, why didn't you stop him?"

"I tried to, but he wouldn't listen!" Carnation squealed.

Donna leapt to her feet. _Something's going on here,_ she thought. _Well, I already knew that, with all these odd events, but now I am absolutely positive that something's happening. And this time, Spaceman, I'm going to help._

Out loud, she said, "I need to find him."

Carnation blinked at her. "Why? The Health branch can get you a copy of the information for you to enter into the main system."

Donna did not answer this question. She was already out the door, thinking of where Spaceman would've gone to. _If I were an alien,_ she thought, _and I was trying to figure out what was happening at Plexle, then where would I go after acquiring information about clients?_ Unfortunately, Donna couldn't figure out why the folder of information was so important.

"Ooh, are we going on some sort of manhunt?" Carnation appeared at Donna's side, early scaring the redhead out of her wits. "It's just like a movie."

Donna whirled on her coworker. First off, this is definitely not a movie, and secondly, we are not doing anything."

"Don't be silly," Carnation chirped. "We're on a manhunt, and that's something."

"Not a manhunt!" was all Donna could think to say.

"I was really sad, you know," Carnation said to Donna. She was ahead of her, and Donna couldn't be bothered to catch up and pass. "When Mr. Smith left. He's quite handsome, you know."

"Oh, I know, believe me," Donna said, rolling her eyes. She had the feeling that she'd gotten used to others flirting with Spaceman, when she'd been traveling with him.

Carnation narrowed her eyes at Donna. "Well, he's mine, so hands-off."

"I'm married, Sunshine!" Donna retorted aggressively, and then broke off laughing.

"Are you laughing at me?" the pink-haired girl asked, seemingly scandalized. "Nothing's funny! Whenever I said anything remotely flirtatious, his companion kept laughing at me! I don't know what he sees in her. He deserves better than her. But he wouldn't even look at me-he didn't want to have anything to do with me?"

Donna snorted. "No surprise there. What would a nine-hundred-year-old alien from a different planet want with you?"

Gold light flashed at the edge of Donna's vision, and a headache totally unrelated to the one Carnation had given her took over the ginger's head. It felt like knives were stabbing her brain.

Totally oblivious, Carnation continued walking ahead. "Don't be silly, Donna," she laughed. "A nine-hundred-year-old alien from a different planet? I wish I had your imagination! Mr. Smith looks to good for nine hundred." She turned around then, perhaps thinking she and Donna would share a laugh at Donna's stupidity, and found her coworker sitting on the floor, clutching her head.

"Omigosj, what's wrong?" Carnation was at the other woman's side immediately. "Is it a migraine? I get those all the time with my periods and they're the absolute worst! I've got some pain medication back in the office, if you need it. I'll run back and grab some..."

Donna pushed herself back to her feet. "I'm fine. Let's go. We've got to hurry."

"What's the rush?"

"You wouldn't understand. You've never traveled with the Doctor."

Donna took off running. Carnation remained kneeled on the ground, where moments ago she'd been comforting the other. She sprang to her feet, looking surprisingly annoyed.

"The Doctor? Who's that? Do you have some weird obsession with your health?" Carnation shouted after Donna, and then took off after her. "I knew I shouldn't have worn heels today."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who Theme...nit as dramatic an ending as normal. Oh well.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. The next chapter or maybe the one after that is where companions and Doctors will finally start running into each other. But hey, Donna remembered the Doctor! Yay!


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Eight

When the Doctor saw Donna Noble running toward him and Martha, he did a double take. He then attempted to maneuver his companion away from the oncoming ginger so that their paths wouldn't meet. As much as he wanted to talk to his old and much missed companion, he couldn't risk her remembering him and dying. The Doctor Donna was never meant to be, and exposure to him could result in it.

But when she called out to him, "Doctor! Wait, please!" he knew that it was too late. She must've already remembered. He hoped that she'd only remembered him, and nothing of their adventures. But, he supposed, if she'd already remembered him and hadn't burned up, then maybe...he didn't dare follow the trickling thoughts that led to the hopeful idea that maybe, just maybe, she could come back.

The Doctor stopped, allowing with some reluctance for Donna to catch up with him. As he turned to face her, he was struck with a painful blow to the cheek, effectively knocking all trains of thought out of his head. Donna's annoyingly pink-haired co-worker shrieked loudly, while Martha giggled and gave the Doctor a look at said _you totally deserved that slap_ and the ginger wrung out her left hand.

"I told you I remembered you," Donna said, a huge smile lighting up her face. She patted the Doctor's abused cheek. "And look, I'm not burning up, am I?"

Still reeling from the slap, the Doctor blinked at her like she was an unusual specimen he'd never seen before.

"Oi! Aren't you going to say something?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He jerked back to focus, still staring at her.

"You're not burning up," he repeated.

"I just said that," Donna huffed.

"Why would she be burning up?" the pink-haired woman piped up, clearly intent on getting some attention. She gave the Doctor a doey-eyed look. "You're the hot one!"

She probably meant to be flirtatious, but she sounded like she was trying a bit _too_ hard. Martha giggled, a faint blush tinting her cheeks like she agreed with her, and Donna just rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"I see some things never change," Donna said. "Carnation, stop flirting. Martha, you're married. Doctor, I swear to all the universe that if you don't say something intelligent now, I'm going to slap you again, Sunshine."

"You're not burning up," the Doctor said again.

Once again, Donna landed a fantastic slap to his face. "OW!" he yelled. "What was that for? That was a genuinely intelligent thing to say!"

Wringing her hand once again, Donna shook her head. "I literally just said the same thing not five seconds ago! Are you an impostor?"

"No!"

"Then prove it!"

"Excuse me," Carnation butted in again. "But are you the Doctor?"

The Doctor gave Donna a look. "Did you tell her about me? Only I'm allowed to tell people about me."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yes, this is the Doctor. And I'm sorry, I tried to get her to go away but she wouldn't listen."

Carnation giggled. "You're the Doctor? Donna's Doctor? I tell you, you need to get her checked out more often. She's absolutely bonkers! And perhaps a bit obsessed with her health, she kept going on about you when we were running around on our manhunt to find you!"

"For the last time, we were NOT on a manhunt!" Donna yelled.

It finally seemed to dawn on the Doctor that Donna had remembered him and was actually not burning up. He seized her in a bone crushing hug.

"Oi!" she exclaimed, but hugged him back, clearly just as glad to see him again.

Martha had a smile on her face, and as soon as the Doctor released Donna, she too gave the redhead a hug.

"Missed you guys too," Donna mumbled, refusing to shed the tears she felt welling in her eyes. "But Doctor, I know something's going on, and now that you're here, I know I'm right."

Martha laughed. "The Doctor _always_ shows up when something's going on."

Carnation interrupted once again. "Excuse me, but do you guys somehow know each other?"

The three hastily nodded in her direction before discussing the events of the day.

"I don't know what they are," the Doctor admitted. "I've never seen anything like them before. It's like…it's like they trying to gain as much information as possible about everyone here."

"They won't let you delete anything in the system," Donna added. "When I made a mistake and tried to correct it, the delete button wouldn't work."

"And has anyone noticed something a bit off about the waiters?" Martha asked.

"Yes!" both Donna and the Doctor exclaimed at the same time, and then grinned at each other. Both of them had missed each other so much, and it was surreal to be back together.

"It's like they're robots," the Doctor continued. "Or like their brains have been reprogrammed—although, I suppose you can't rewire a human brain, unless—well, never mind, I have met a group of aliens quite fond of replacing human brains with themselves…but no, the waiters don't have any scars on their faces."

"Why'd you take the files off my desk?" Donna brought up a new subject. "You know, with all the client information?"

"Only lead," was the Doctor's mumbled response. He looked lost in thought.

"Only lead? What about me? You could've asked me some information about what I'd seen going on about this place!" Donna yelled indignantly.

"Or me!" Carnation added, desperate to be included in the conversation once again. "I've seen all kinds of weird things, like…" she trailed off.

"Well, I suppose I could've asked you, but I couldn't risk you remembering," the Doctor replied to Donna.

"I told him we should've talked to you earlier," Martha supplied. "When we saw you in the office, before we came in. Doctor wanted to just turn around and march back the way we'd come."

"Well," the Doctor shrugged sheepishly. "My concern was warranted at the time! But look!" Another grin lit up his face. "Donna's not burning up!"

"We've established that," Donna said fondly. "Now, what do we do now?"

Martha nodded. "This is usually when a bunch of aliens show up, we run for our lives, you inevitably come up with a bunch of information that you hasten to tell us immediately, we look at you in utter confusion, and you look at us like we're idiots."

"Aliens?" Carnation repeated, very confused.

"No offense, but the human race is pretty idiotic, compared with the Time Lords," the Doctor defended himself half-heartedly.

"Aliens?" Carnation repeated, appearing to be on the verge of fainting.

"Oi, what about me?" Donna snapped. "I'm a human, and yet I know just about as much as you do!"

"ALIENS?" Carnation squealed, and they had to quiet her because people were staring.

"Yes, aliens," Donna told her, feeling a bit sympathetic for her pink-haired coworker. Finding out there were other life forms in the universe was a little strange, but for Donna, it had never scared her; the idea that there were lives being led on planets other than Earth and the idea that there were so many places in space left unexplored by the human race was thrilling. She'd seen things no other human had seen.

"Is that why you called _him,_ " she pointed to the Doctor as if he were an offending item, "Spaceman?"

"Yes," Donna nodded. "He's an alien."

The Doctor grinned and waved at Carnation. "Greetings, Earthling! I come in peace! Ooh, goody, I've always wanted to say that line."

She actually did faint.

"Oh, that's not good." He winced as Carnation's body hit the floor with a loud thump. "I don't think anybody's every fainted before."

"She's a bit overdramatic," Donna said, bending over and attempting to revive her coworker.

"So where to?" Martha repeated the question from earlier, before adding, jokingly, "No aliens have showed up yet."

"Hey! You three!" a voice called from their right.

Martha let out a puff of air. "Perhaps I spoke too soon."

She, the Doctor, and Donna all looked to the source of the sound. Carnation's eyes fluttered open, as if she too had heard the voice.

"What are you doing here?" the same voice asked, and Donna saw Matt Smith and Geronimo walking towards them.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...cue Doctor Who theme...

Sorry I haven't updated for a while! But happy belated Christmas! I'm very elated because 1) I got a sonic screwdriver for Christmas, 2) I also got the complete visual guide to Doctor Who, and 3) I watched the Doctor Who Christmas special! Yes! It's so good to be back to the world of Doctor Who after a year of deprivation. There's a brief reference to a the show, but it's not a spoiler and I doubt you'll catch it unless you've seen the episode...I hope.

Again, happy belated Christmas to you all! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it!


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Nine

The Brain and his daughter should've been elated. They'd located not one, but _two_ Time Lords, something they hadn't hoped to accomplish. Their plan had worked; they'd gained enough attention to raise suspicion and attract enough attention for two Time Lords to come running to their company in an attempt to figure them out - an attempt that would fail.

However, the Brain and his daughter were not elated. Their second plan, the one involving the human, had not gone according to their detailed predictions. She had remembered, with some difficulty, her adventures with the Doctor, and the Doctor himself, but the large majority of her memory - the part they actually wanted, that stored all the information that would help them on their way - had not been touched, and it was still inactive in the human's mind. She still could not remember anything about being the Doctor Donna.

In other words, she was just a half-human, half-Time-Lord, but she had no Time Lord in her. Therefore, she was useless, just like the rest of the human species.

And she was also the key to their plan. Without her hidden knowledge of the Doctor and the Time Lords and the universe, the Brain and his daughter couldn't start the next step of the operation. Until they could stimulate the information back into Donna's brain, she was nothing. An full data file filled with all the wrong things, a dormant volcano ready to erupt with knowledge it didn't know it had.

She was nothing. So they were nothing, until she remembered.

There were several things they could do.

* * *

Matt Smith looked straight past Carnation and Martha and at the Doctor and Donna.

"This is bad," he said, more to himself than anybody. He smiled briefly at Donna, his eyes lighting up as if seeing her was the best thing that had happened to him, and then he turned his attention to the Doctor, looking him up and down, frowning, mumbling to himself. "If there's two of me here, then this must be big. Big enough to attract the attention of multiple versions of myself. Did you accidentally send the TARDIS here?" He aimed the question at the Doctor.

"Excuse me?" the Doctor said. "How do you know about the TARDIS? What have you noticed about this company? Anything unusual?"

"There's lots of unusual stuff going on around here," said Matt Smith, waving his hands around as if to enunciate the point. "As for who I am, I think you already know."

"Really?" The Doctor looked unusually crestfallen. "But you aren't ginger. Are you telling me I'm not going to be ginger when I regenerate next? And what's with the bowtie?"

"Bowties are cool," said Matt Smith defensively, and he adjusted the cool bowtie he was wearing. "On a related topic, you can hardly insult my fashion choices! Look at what you're wearing!"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" the Doctor asked, looking mildly offended while looking down at himself.

"For one, you're wearing a long coat," Matt Smith pointed out. "Must be incredibly difficult to run in running situations."

"Well, if you were me, then you know how much I liked this jacket," the Doctor returned, and before Matt Smith could retort, Martha stepped between the two of them, holding up her hands to tell the two men to stop.

"Hold on, what's going on?" Martha asked, and then gestured to Matt Smith. "Is he an alien or something?"

"Well, I'm certainly not human," said both the Doctor and Matt Smith at the same time, and then they looked at each other and smiled a bit.

"But I'm definitely the better version of the Doctor," Matt Smith added. "Better TARDIS, better sonic screwdriver." Here he pulled out the device and displayed it show-offishly to the Doctor and a very confused Donna, Martha, Geronimo, and Carnation.

"Less sense of modesty..." the Doctor supplied. "Big chin..."

"Hey, I like my chin!" Matt Smith exclaimed, looking offended. "Well, actually, not really, but for now I'm going to say I'm quite fond of it. Anyway, Rory here is the one with the weird nose." He pointed to Geronimo, heightening Donna's confusion.

Rory - Geronimo? - opened his mouth to say something, but once again Martha spoke. "So, wait, do you two know each other somehow? He's an alien? Is he our friend or our enemy?"

A beaming smile lit up Carnation's face. "Hold it, I think I've got it!" she exclaimed, and stepped up, examining both Matt Smith and the Doctor with extreme scrutiny. Knowing Carnation, she could've just been checking them out, but within a few seconds the pink-haired girl had stepped away from the two men. She clapped her hands together in delight and then said, "You guys are the same person, aren't you? Just different versions, one from the past," she indicated the Doctor, "and one from the future!" she indicated Matt Smith.

"Well done!" Matt Smith clapped Carnation on the back. "Very clever. Not as clever as me, though, but I'm clever on a whole different level."

The Doctor face palmed.

"So, you," Martha pointed at Matt Smith, "are the Doctor, too?"

Both the Doctor and Matt Smith nodded, and then looked at their companions as if they expected something big and dramatic to happen, like maybe a bit of fainting and gasping and denial.

"How are we going to deal with two of them?" Donna asked. "No, how are we going to keep track of the two of them and make sure they don't do anything stupid?"

"I never do anything stupid!" both Doctors denied at the same time. Then Matt Smith/Doctor turned to John Smith/Doctor and said, "Well, I must say, you've done a couple of stupid things - "

Rory shook his head. "Doctor, I've been with you enough to know you do stupid things all the time. Don't try to deny it."

Carnation bubbled, "I do stupid things all the time!"

"So," Matt Smith/Doctor turned to look at his past incarnation. "What exactly brought you here? Was it some mistake where you wanted to go to Boromeo but ended up here instead? I've done that once - well, several times, actually."

"No, something unusual is going on here," John/Doctor said. "Believe me, if I was going on any kind of trip to some planet, I don't think I would've managed to convince Martha Jones to come travel with me."

"It's Martha Smith now," Martha corrected.

"I had to tell her it was dire," said John/Doctor. "I'd assume that's what brings you here, as well?"

"I never got to congratulate you on your marriage, Martha," Matt/Doctor said to the woman, smiling. He turned back to his past incarnation, his expression serious once more. "Yes, that's why I brought myself and my companions here with me. Everyone, this is Rory. Probably should've introduced him earlier, but it seems to have slipped my mind."

Rory waved, looking awkward.

"Rory? I thought you said his name was Geronimo," Donna said.

"Ah, well," Matt/Doctor shrugged, looking a big sheepish. "It's really Rory. Rory the Roman. He used to be plastic."

"I'd assume you know all my companions," said John/Doctor. "Seeing as you traveled with them at some point."

"Not me!" trilled Carnation, and waved her fingers to gain everyone's attention. "I'm Carnation Schwann! I totally didn't even know my day was going to be this exciting, but I can't wait to tell my sister all about my adventures later on! And I totally apologize for wearing heels. I'm sorry if they're an inconvenience."

"How long have you been working here?" asked Matt/Doctor. "Have you noticed any unusual behavior, or really anything unusual at all?"

"I just started working here this morning, lucky me," Carnation said breathlessly. "I really hadn't noticed anything unusual before now; I wasn't really paying attention when I came in this morning, and I didn't really hang about the lobby because I was so eager to get going with my work. If you do need someone who's been working here for a while, though, I can take you to Hyacinth. She's been here for two months now!"

"I've been here for two months now," Rory muttered darkly. "Still haven't discovered anything yet. Although, I suppose I discovered the Doctor can somehow be even _more_ annoying then I thought."

"Oh, you know you're having fun," said Matt/Doctor absently. "Have you seen your wife recently? Or your daughter?"

"You employed a kid as your companion?" asked John/Doctor in alarm.

"No," was the curt reply. "Now, I have a plan! Which is probably a first, because generally I just improvise, but yes, I have a plan."

"Let's hear it," Donna demanded. "We still don't know what we're up against."

"Rory and I need to wait for his wife and his daughter," Matt/Doctor began. "So we'll wait here. Why don't the rest of you run up to the office and talk with that employee? Find out what you can, and then we'll all meet back here when you're done to discuss information and possibilities."

John/Doctor looked thoughtful. "I think somebody should also investigate the gray-uniformed waiters," he said at last. "There's something off about them, as well."

"I'll do it," Martha volunteered. "Donna, come with me."

"We'll be back as quickly as we can!" said Carnation, her face glowing.

"Oh no, you left me alone with her!" John/Doctor groaned. "If I don't come back, it might not be because of the aliens - I'll send some sort of signal if something happens - "

Carnation dragged him off, and he looked back at them with wide and pleading eyes.

"Oh, Doctor," Martha said, rolling her eyes fondly. "I've missed him."

"I've missed you." Matt/Doctor had appeared beside them, Rory close behind, looking extremely awkward as he gazed around, clearly trying not to intrude on what could be a private moment.

Both females jumped, and then smiled a bit awkwardly at the new Doctor. It was difficult to place their Doctor, with his spiky brown hair and his suits with this more crazy, bowtie-obsessed man with a rather large chin. But still, they could see it in his eyes; though he'd changed his face and his clothing and his personality, he was still the same underneath; the same Doctor. Their Doctor.

Martha and Donna both seemed to realize at the same time that they'd been staring at Matt/Doctor intensely, and he was clearing his throat nervously as he adjusted his bowtie. "Right then. You two had better be off then. It's good to see you again."

He stepped away from them so that he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Rory. "They still aren't back," said Rory, clearly looking for his wife and daughter. "Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"This is strange," Martha said as she and Donna set off in the direction of the lobby café where Donna had eaten her lunch - and, she realized met another incarnation of the Doctor - previously that day.

"Very strange," Donna agreed. "You know, I've missed this, though. The mystery. The excitement. The drama. Figuring out the aliens dastardly evil plan, helping to put a stop to it. I've missed it."

"I don't know," Martha said with a shrug. "I liked it for the first few adventures...but then it got old. I got scared. Donna, I want to have a life outside of the Doctor. Once you're his companion...it's like suddenly your life isn't your own anymore. Suddenly, the Doctor's everywhere and you have to go with him. That's what I feel like, anyway. And the only way you can stop traveling with him, it seems, is if you die or something terrible happens to you, and I wanted to stop traveling with him while I could still remember everything that happened...not like you...you forgot."

"But I remember now," Donna said fiercely. "But yes, I know what you mean. The Doctor is a bit...everywhere."

The two smiled at each other. They'd reached the café by now; it had only been a quick journey.

"How shall we start?" asked Martha.

"Just order a drink, and observe how the waiter behaves," Donna suggested. The two took a seat at the table, and Donna flagged down a waitress with her blond hair tied back in a ponytail.

"I'll be with you in a moment," said the waitress, her voice chillingly robotic. She quickly and efficiently serviced another table, and then smoothly glided to the table with Donna and Martha.

Both Donna and Martha looked up at their waitress at the same time, intent on studying her face, noting anything off about it, and both women did a double take.

Because there in front of them, dressed in a neat gray uniform, holding an empty tray of drinks and staring forward with a blank and robotic expression, was Jenny, the Doctor's daughter.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who theme...

This was an amusing chapter to write, although difficult, because I wanted to write an amusing but believable exchange between the two regenerations of the Doctor. I hope I managed to pull it off! More characters are still to come.

I always appreciate reviews, and I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed this story! I'm currently debating a title for this, although I might keep it as Currently Untitled. We'll see, as the plot progresses. Thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Ten

"It's a careful process." The Brain's daughter hovered over the shoulder of her father. "We are the only thing keeping her from burning up."

"I know, I'm the one who's engineered everything," the Brain snapped. His fingers flew over the keyboard, eyes fixated on the large screen. "One wrong move, and we'll lose her for good."

* * *

The waitress - Jenny? - blinked down on the two women, her gray eyes unreadable. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, her voice remaining rebotic.

"Um," Donna stuttered. She was horrified at the prospect that Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, had turned into one of these mindless servers. How could this be? How did whatever alien behind all this strangeness at Plexle get hold of her, and most importantly, why had Jenny let it happen? If this alien force was able to over power the Doctor's daughter, then perhaps they were very, very strong - stronger than any alien Donna had faced.

"Jenny," Martha spoke, her voice surprisingly calm and low. "Do you recognize us?"

"Of course, you are Mistress Martha Jones and Mistress Donna Noble," Jenny replied, her voice still iron. "Please hurry and place an order if you'd like. There are many customers to be served, and I'm afraid I can't stay."

Donna could've sworn she winked.

Martha looked at Donna in horror. As if telepathic, the two had an entire conversation without even speaking, their expressions and eyes saying everything for them. First jerking her head at Jenny, and then looking absolutely confused, Martha explained to Donna how strange this was, and how little sense it made. Donna replied by nodding fervently and shrugging, to convey how confused she was as well.

"I'll let you two decide for a bit longer," Jenny said, breaking through their silent conversation. Her face flickered with what might have been an attempt at a smile, and then she was gone.

"What?" was the first word out of Donna's mouth. "How? What's happened to her?"

Martha shook her head, looking appalled. "She's supposed to be dead, isn't she? She died on Messaline?"

"That's what you were thinking about?" Donna asked.

"You aren't surprised?" Martha returned.

"Well, she is part Time Lord," Donna stated like this was an obvious fact. "I think I always knew she was still alive, somewhere, somehow."

"But when she got shot - she died in the Doctor's arms!" Martha protested. "He was devastated, remember?"

A bit of Donna's Time Lord knowledge seemed to leak into her mind. Martha noticed her friend's eyes momentarily flash golden, and then return to normal.

"Sometimes a Time Lord's - or Lady's, I suppose, in this case - well, they're regeneration can be delayed for various reasons," Donna explained.

"But why didn't she change her face?" Martha countered. "The Doctor changed his face."

"Well, when he got shot by a Dalek, he was able to keep his face," Donna recalled. "Although, I suppose you weren't there for that. And I suppose it did help that he had his severed hand in a capsule nearby, which allowed him to - well, it's complicated and unnecessary to explain. But the point is, it's possible for them to keep the same face from one generation from the next."

Martha pouted slightly. "I kind of wish the Doctor kept the same face going into his next form..."

Donna rolled her eyes fondly. "You're married, Sunshine," she reminded the doctor in a gentle but firm voice. "Besides, bigger issue here. What are we going to do about Jenny? Tell the Doctor? I'm sure he'd be delighted to see her again, but she's been converted into - a robot waiter. And we're in the middle of a situation."

"We're always in the middle of a situation," Martha joked. "But I think we should tell him. He might be able to figure out away to get Jenny back to normal. How about this? I'll stay here, order a drink, and talk a bit with Jenny, or whatever server comes by, and try to figure out what's going on. You run over to the Doctor - I suppose the newer incarnation, because our Doctor's doing something else, and then return here."

"All right," Donna said. She pushed herself up from her seat and waved a quick goodbye to Martha, who smiled in farewell, looking immensely concerned.

Barely out of the cafeteria, Donna's phone began to ring. She saw it was her husband, so quickly answered it.

 _I'm not sure how he's going to react to everything that's going on,_ she thought. "Hello?" She spoke in a calm and quiet voice in an attempt to deceive Shawn into believing everything was fine, while she walked frantically towards the place where she'd last seen the Doctor.

"Hey, Donna," Shawn's voice replied. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to go out for lunch today, to celebrate your first day on the job. I've got a couple of colleagues who'd like to meet you too, and I was wondering - "

Donna felt a bit bad about it, but she quickly cut off her husband. "Shawn, I'd love to, but right now I'm super busy. You know, first day on the job, there's so much to learn and I've got so many client information sheets to put into the computer. Maybe a bit later, or some other day?"

Shawn sounded crestfallen as he replied. "Oh no, that's perfectly fine. I totally understand. Isn't it amazing, how many customers Plexle has? It's incredible!"

 _Not as incredible as what's going on now,_ Donna thought. _As terrifying as fighting aliens and figuring out mysteries can be, it's so much better than my old boring life._ "Oh yes, incredible," she replied.

"How's the first day, other than all the paperwork?" asked Shawn lightly. "Is your work partner nice? You know, I work with her sister up here in the Legal Department. Hyacinth Schwann. She's quite a lovely young woman."

"Well, I guess she's nothing like her sister," Donna replied distractedly. She'd caught sight of Matt/Doctor and Rory, standing with two unfamiliar women, one with curly blonde hair and another with a head of ginger much like Donna's own. "It was great talking to you, Shawn," Donna said. "I've got to go now, though."

"But - " Shawn's protest was cut off when Donna ended the call.

"Donna!" Matt/Doctor cried upon seeing her. "Where's Martha?"

"Back at the café," Donna said. "We've had a development. Do you remember Jenny?"

The Doctor's face darkened.

"Who's Jenny?" asked the redhead.

"Of course I remember Jenny," the Doctor said. "Why do you ask?" Then it seemed to dawn on him. "No, you don't mean - but she died, I saw her die! She died in my arms - she can't be alive! Is she here?"

Donna nodded grimly, and a delightfully childish grin lit up the Doctor's face. He clapped his hands together and held them up above his head, as if he were celebrating a victory. "Really? You mean it?"

Looking at the bowtie-clad man in front of her, surrounded by an unfamiliar set of companions, Donna had difficulty seeing him as the Doctor, but this reaction convinced her that it was truly the same man. She felt heartbroken to tell him the rest of the development.

"I mean it," she said, and he whooped, shaking the curly-haired woman by her shoulders in excitement.

"What's going on?" asked the redhead.

"She's alive!" the Doctor informed her. "Amy, she's alive!"

"Who's alive?" asked the curly-haired woman, free from the clutches of the Doctor. "Doctor, what's going on? Who is this woman?"

"This," the Doctor said, beaming at Donna, "is Donna Noble. Well, I suppose it's changed because she got married, but whatever. She was one of my companions until - "

"Until he wiped my memory and left," Donna said drily.

His companions exchanged looks, while he spluttered for a response. "Well, yes, but it was to save your life!"

Donna softened a bit. "I know, I know. I just wish things could be different."

"So do I," the Doctor agreed, his grin lighting up his face once more. "And Jenny - she's here?"

"Yes," Donna said. "But Doctor, before you get all excited, there's something you need to know. She's - she's one of the robotic waitresses."

The Doctor's face fell comically.

"Jenny's who?" Amy prompted.

"My daughter." The Doctor sounded heartbroken.

Amy and Rory both looked at each other. "Your daughter?"

The Doctor waved their shock away. "She's a clone, created from tissue they took from me on Messaline."

Amy looked to the curly-haired woman as if she expected a reaction. "Did you ever tell River?"

"Mum, he's been alive for centuries," the curly-haired woman, River, said in exasperation. "He's bound to have children."

"As long as you're okay with it, then," said Amy, and a bit belatedly Donna realized she was Scottish. "He's your husband."

It was Donna's turn to be surprised, and Amy smirked as if she'd intentionally said those words for this reaction. "You're marred." she stated. "Well, this whole day has been full of surprises, so I guess I should be used to it."

"No time to waste. Off to the cafeteria," the Doctor demanded. "I'll figure out a way to get her back. GERONIMO!" He charged away in the direction of the eatery. River followed.

"I take it they 'Geronimo' is his new catchphrase," Donna remarked.

"Yup," Amy said. "So, you travelled with the Doctor, huh?"

"Yes, for quite a while," Donna replied. "Would've continued, but then he took my memories."

"What happened?" Rory asked. "Why'd he take your memories?"

"Long story," Donna replied with a shrug.

"I said, GERONIMO!" The Doctor had returned, sounding immensely annoyed.

"That I clearly don't have time to tell," she finished. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** ...Doctor Who theme...

Okay, so there wasn't that much action in that chapter...but hopefully the next few will be more exciting! There will be some discovery in the next chapter, both of other characters, and of information regarding the alien that has control of Plexle. I will also try to include Rose Tyler among the companions who appear, along with the meta-crisis Doctor, maybe.

Also, I'm trying to come up with a title for this, so if anyone has a suggestion for one, please let me know. I might just keep it the way it is if I can't come up with anything. We'll see.

Anyway, thank you to all my readers and reviewers! I really appreciate you all. Any feedback regarding this story is always welcome! Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

They were both triumphant.

"The best way to kick-start the Time Lord knowledge," said the Brain as both he and his daughter grinned deviously into the computer screen, "is to have her remember something very important to the Time Lords. And what do the Time Lords hate the most?"

"Only their enemies," his daughter replied. They sat back and watched the screen, where the little figures of the Doctor and his companions, and the most important woman in the universe, were walking towards the cafeteria.

"Operation on the Doctor's daughter was successful, by the way," the woman added. "If all else fails, we have her."

"All else will not fail," the Brain declared.

The two waited with an eager air about them. Soon, it would be time. Soon, they would possess the most knowledge in the universe, and they could finally begin.

"EXTERMINATE."

* * *

"And I said to her, isn't that just silly!" Carnation was saying to John/Doctor as they walked back down the hallway they'd just come from, towards the lifts. They'd just visited her sister Hyacinth, and Carnation's twin had been less than happy to see the both of them.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with Plexle," she had said severely when they asked if she'd seen any odd things during her time there. "Except, possibly, with the fact they hired you," she'd added contemptuously to her sister. "Honestly, what they were thinking."

"Maybe they weren't," Carnation had responded, not realizing she'd insulted herself.

Both Hyacinth and the Doctor had rolled their eyes. "Have you met any of the staff, working outside of your department?" asked the Doctor, trying to glean any information from the closed-off woman. "Perhaps the Vice Principal, or a secretary, or a Head of Department?"

"Plexle is very busy," Hyacinth had returned in a clipped tone. "It's an honor to meet any of the people you mentioned, and even though I have been on the staff here longer than most, I have yet to gain enough trust to be honored in such a way."

Carnation had visibly deflated at this tone. "We'd better get going then," she'd said to the Doctor, smiling widely. "She's not going to tell us anything more than she already has."

"Thank you for your time," the Doctor had said to Hyacinth as he followed the pink-haired girl out of her sister's office.

"I can't say the same," Hyacinth had said.

And that was how the Doctor was walking with Carnation Schwann, listening to all her totally random - _interesting -_ stories from when she and her sister were growing up. She was talking his ear off, and he couldn't think with her yammering nonstop. "And when we were eight, we both had these pink rabbit stuffed animals that we _absolutely_ adored, but I decided that I wanted Hyacinth's too, so I took it and she got so angry at me," Carnation continued. "I even gave her my old pacifier in its place, but it wasn't enough. I mean, how selfish can she be?"

At least Carnation was hanging onto his arm like she had the entire way up to her sister's office. She was too busy using her hands to animatedly prove a point in her story. "And then when we were eleven, I took her side of our special twin necklace that we've had since forever and I've kept it ever since, but it was because she totally deserved it after..."

Finally, the Doctor managed to tune her out. He needed to think about the clues - but there weren't very many. They hadn't gotten any actual or useful information out of Hyacinth, unless...

"Miss Schwann," the Doctor cut through Carnation's babbling.

"And she said - oh, are you talking to me, Doctor?" Carnation asked, giggling madly. "Isn't it just rude, what Hyacinth did to me then!"

"Absolutely," the Doctor said, and she giggled some more. "Miss Schwann," he tried again.

"Oh, call me Carnation, Doctor," she said flirtatiously, with a wink.

"Right then," he said, letting out a huge internally exasperated sigh. "Carnation, is your sister always like that?"

Carnation giggled a bit more. "Weren't you listening to anything I said? She's always been rather rude to and around me, but I think that's just a twin thing, you know? I get I'm annoying but she's fairly annoying herself when she wants to be, like when I took her half of the twin necklace as punishment for - "

"So her behavior, in the office," the Doctor interrupted. "Was that usual for her, or more severe than normal?"

Carnation finally looked thoughtful. "I suppose she was a bit more abrupt than usual," she said at last. Then she scrunched up her nose, as if thinking very hard. "Hmm, I do suppose she didn't make fun of me. She usually can't go a few sentences without saying something nasty about my hair or something, but again, probably a twin thing. And I do it back to her. Although," she leaned forward a bit, standing on her tiptoes so she was closer to the Doctor's height, "she did say she'd never met anyone important, and now that I think about that it's rather strange she should say that. A few months back she came home elated because she got to meet Dr. Brian - the head of her department - and she just wouldn't shut up about it."

"So she lied," the Doctor concluded.

"Yeah, she lies a lot," Carnation said carelessly. "How will that help us with whatever's going on, though?"

"Why'd she lie?" asked the Doctor.

"OH!" Carnation gasped as if suddenly was very clear. "That's exactly it! Why did she lie? That's the big mystery. Nope, I still don't understand," she said, looking disappointed. "I don't know why she lied. It's like she was brainwashed or something. That doesn't happen, does it? Brainwashing?"

"We need to find Martha and Donna," the Doctor said. "Now. They were the ones investigating the waiters."

Before Carnation could reply, he went running. "Hey, I'm in heels!" she called after him, looking immensely confused. Then it seemed to dawn on her. A look of horror filled her face. "Wait - are you saying - did they brainwash my sister? Is she like those waiters now? Doctor! Wait for me!"

The lifts couldn't come quickly enough. The Doctor climbed on the first one that came, impatiently jamming his finger on the lobby button. A few moments later, Carnation, huffing and puffing and glaring at her shoes joined him, and she hastily adjusted her appearance in the lift mirror, sending the Doctor dismayed and embarrassed looks. She was unusually subdued.

Finally, the lift doors opened onto the lobby floor, and shoving through the mobs of people trying to come onto the lift, the two finally made it to an empty spot.

"Where's the lobby?" asked the Doctor, fully intending to step back into the hoards of people going in every direction. "We need to get there as fast as possible, see what Donna and Martha have discovered."

"I'm not sure," Carnation said in a smaller voice. She was not looking at the Doctor now. Her gaze was transfixed on something off in the distance. "But I'm not sure we should go there just now."

"We've got to get there as soon as possible," the Doctor disagreed, somewhat annoyed at her. How could she not understand the urgency of the situation? "The sooner the better."

"I know, but," Carnation pointed a shaking finger at whatever had held her attention for the past few minutes. "Look."

And the Doctor saw just what she was afraid of.

"EXTERMINATE."

* * *

Both Jenny and Martha were not there when Donna arrived with Matt/Doctor, River, Amy, and Rory.

"Where'd they go?" Donna asked, dumbstruck by their disappearance. Perhaps Jenny's absence was not that odd, but Martha, she'd promised to stay and talk to Jenny! She wouldn't have left unless something was urgent, or it was against her will.

"Donna," the Doctor said, looking solemn and concerned, "they were here? Martha was sitting at this table?"

"Yes," Donna nodded, and then her eyes widened along with the other companion's as the Doctor held up Martha's doctor badge, containing her image and other information about her.

"What happened, Doctor?" Amy asked. She walked over to the table that Martha had been sitting out, bending over and investigating the chair as if it might have more clues.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan the table, the chair, and the areas around the two. He earned a few strange looks from afar, and when he looked at his device, he glared at his before putting it away.

"Nothing," he said. "No clues. But in case anyone wanted to know, someone recently had hot cocoa."

No one wanted to know.

"Nobody else is sitting over by us," River said, her eyes darting around. "We can't ask for witnesses."

"And what would they say, anyway?" Rory added.

"She could've walked away on her own," Donna agreed. "Or Jenny led her away, but that might not have looked very suspicious."

"Was Jenny talking like the other waiters?" asked the Doctor.

"We established that we're pretty sure she's one of them now," Donna answered. "Perhaps she had orders to lead her away? Martha's a very smart woman, and she's connected to you, Doctor. She could prove very valuable."

The Doctor's eyes clouded. Amy rushed over to his side. "Doctor, we'll find her," she promised. "Wherever she's gone, we'll find her."

Rory examined Martha's badge. "It's funny she left this here," he said. "I somehow doubt it just fell off her person."

River was not looking at the redhead or the Doctor or Rory. Her eyes were focused on something outside of the café.

"Or maybe she left because she knew what was coming," the curly-haired woman said.

"But if that were the case, she would've come found us," the Doctor disagreed.

"Maybe we'd already left to come here," Amy said.

"But then we would've run into her," the Doctor countered.

"We should go," River interrupted, her voice weary. "Now."

"What's the problem?" asked Donna. She came to stand by the other, and saw exactly what the problem was. "River's right. Let's get out of here now."

"But what about Martha?" the Doctor asked, blissfully unaware of the impending danger.

"It'll get a lot harder to find her if we stay here," Donna said, and seized one of his arms, partially dragging him as she headed for one of the café's exits.

River took the Doctor's other arm. "Trust me, Sweetie," she said. "We need to go."

"EXTERMINATE."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who theme...

Sorry for the late update! But school started up again, and I was super busy. Luckily today we had off, so I wrote this chapter! I'm betting you can guess who's just showed up. Anyway...I'm thinking more characters will show up in the next few chapters, hopefully. I hope I'm writing Amy, Rory, and River realistically. For whatever reason, I find them the most difficult to write for.

Anyway, you can hopefully expect an update sometime over the weekend! I appreciate any comments, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! Happy late new year! Thanks for reading.


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

A Dalek, Donna remembered as she dragged Matt/Doctor away from the café along with River and the Ponds. She'd met a few on her adventures with the Doctor, and the one that was currently in the lobby at Plexle looked like the ones she'd seen.

The Doctor craned his neck. "A Dalek? Really? Here? But that doesn't make any sense. This enemy we're facing - it's not the Daleks. They're not nearly subtle or patient enough to set up a company like this, go undercover for so long without exterminating anyone or attempting to invade Earth!"

"Let's worry about it later, sweetheart," River said, smiling in an exasperated manner at the Time Lord. "I admit, it's very strange to see one here. But perhaps this enemy is not who we thought it was."

"We didn't really think it was anyone," Amy said. "And those are _Daleks,_ right Doctor? Like the ones we saw at that creepy Asylum?"

"Yes, that would be them," the Doctor agreed. "I don't know what they'd be doing here, but they aren't saying my name so perhaps they still don't remember me."

"DOCTOR," the oncoming Dalek blared at that moment.

"All right, I was wrong about that," he admitted. "But that's the only time I've ever been wrong, or ever will be."

"Sure," Amy replied.

"Something's not right about that Dalek," River said.

"We've established that," the Doctor replied. "Now if you'd just let go of my arms, Donna, River, two lovely women, excellent really, then maybe I could figure out what the issue is?"

Donna squinted at the Dalek. A piercing pain was building up in her head, and maybe it was just her imagination, but it was like...almost as if the monster was see-through.

"Hold on," she said. "Why is nobody else reacting to the Dalek's presence?"

It was true. Around the moving creature, people went about their normal daily procedures, hardly glancing twice at it. And those who looked at it simply smiled and waved as if the Dalek were someone they knew fairly well, and they were waving to acknowledge its presence. A few people were even daring enough to bump into it in their haste to get to some place, and yet it did nothing!

"Not a Dalek?" asked Amy. "Then should we not run? Do we investigate? But what if it's all a ploy? We need a sacrificial lamb."

"I am not being a sacrificial lamb," said Rory from off the the side.

"I wasn't saying you were going to be," Amy replied. "I've had enough of you sacrificing yourself. If you go, I'd go too."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" River simpered, smiling at her parents. "But nobody's sacrificing anybody to that monster. Doctor, can you see what's wrong?"

"I can if you'd just LET GO OF MY ARMS," came the annoyed reply, and finally Donna and River let go of him. Immediately his sonic screwdriver was in his hand.

"Now try to secretively scan it - " Donna began, but the Doctor wasn't listening, and the noise of the sonic screwdriver brought the Dalek's eyestalk swiveling in their direction. "Well, that's just magnificent."

"Sorry, it was on high," the Doctor defended. "I didn't turn down the volume!"

"That's not how it works, sweetie," River shook her head.

"Of course it is, what do you know about my sonic screwdriver?" the Doctor snapped. "But that doesn't matter now!"

"DOCTOR," the Dalek's robotic voice buzzed across the space. Not a single head turned to look in the direction of the loud noise; it was as if the small group of the Doctor and his companions were the only ones aware of their enemy's existence.

"Let's go," the Doctor announced, and they all fled the café.

* * *

John/Doctor's face was pressed to the glass of the elevator as it descended. He and Carnation were both watching the events below carefully; they saw Matt/Doctor, Donna, and three new people run off, away from the Dalek.

"No, no!" John/Doctor shouted at the elevator glass. "It can't be a real Dalek! It doesn't make sense, not with any of the clues we've got."

"What is a this...'Dalek' as you called it?" asked Carnation curiously.

"Terrible creatures," the Doctor replied, still craning his neck in the direction of the Dalek. "Oh, this lift is so slow!" he jammed his finger on the button for the lobby as if by doing so he'd arrive at his destiny faster. As he did this, he watched as the Dalek disappeared, likely giving chase to Matt/Doctor, Donna, and the people with them. "No, where's it off to now?"

Carnation spoke in a calm voice. "I can tell you don't like them. You got all serious suddenly. They must've done something awful."

"Don't get me started on them," the Doctor replied. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the lift button panel. Sparks erupted from it, sending out an alarm in the compartment, and the doors automatically opened, revealing several surprised customers who'd been waiting for the lift on the second level.

"Out of order," the Doctor informed them all. "They've got people coming to work on it soon. I'd say some other reassuring things but I've got to go! Come on, Ms. Schwann!"

He took off running, while Carnation loosed a curse that caused an old woman among the waiting customers to faint. "Heels! Of all the days to wear them! I was trying to look nice for the first day on the job!"

* * *

Captain Jack Harkness had figured something out. These aliens - they obviously had a name. And he'd found out what it was! Well, he was pretty sure he did. Being a member of Torchwood for who knows how long, he had some clever ways of infiltrating potential enemies, and by hacking (using a computer in an empty office) into their main system, he'd managed to capture some data that potentially contained the name of their alien species. It was great, a huge leap forward in solving the mystery of who these aliens were, except there was a huge problem. Two, actually.

First of all, the language these aliens spoke was unrecognizable. Even the handy device Jack had the recognized most languages in the known universe couldn't translate the words - strange squiggles and lines that almost formed shapes, almost recognizable in a few languages but with enough variation to be completely different.

This presented problem two: the Doctor would probably be able to figure out what the words meant. Jack knew the Doctor could speak many languages, even baby (which was a bit strange, if you asked Jack. Do babies really ever say anything interesting?) So that meant that in order to get any farther in figuring out these aliens, Jack would have to go and find the Doctor, which was about the last thing he wanted to do at that moment.

Actually, there was one more thing he'd rather not do at that moment. And that involved getting shot by a Dalek, but when it came to letting yourself be killed when you're immortal and can never die, or letting the people you know get killed when they're mortal and can die, it's not really that difficult of a choice.

And so Jack now had three problems.

He knew he should've stayed on Saphirra.

* * *

They'd hidden in a women's restroom.

("Why can't we go to the men's? It's much lovelier there," Rory had complained after his entrance had caused a few hysterical screams and growls from the women using the restroom, to which Amy replied, "We're all women here, except you."

"What about the Doctor?"

"He doesn't count! He doesn't care!")

In the largest stall, they held a council to attempt to figure out what was going on.

"So, we know that Dalek isn't real," River said. "But yet, it appears realistic enough. So why would the aliens send down a fake-looking Dalek? What's it's purpose, precisely?"

"It's a projection," Donna added. "Which also must mean that they - whoever they might be - have some sort of connection to Earth that allows them to send life-like images down here. Which means they must have some sort of space ship, up in the sky or down in the ground."

"Like Silurians," the Doctor agreed. "But this doesn't seem like Silurian work. That species of aliens - Earthiens, whatever - can't stand humans. 'Apes' they call them. They wouldn't stand for something like Plexle. Which eliminates them."

"And it's not the Daleks," Amy added. "Probably not Weeping Angels. I haven't seen any statues around."

"They don't remind me of any other aliens we've met," Rory added. "Perhaps this connects with the Great Intelligence?"

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Intelligence. Now why do I feel like that's important? Information, it's like they're trying to get as much of it as they can. Donna, you said they wouldn't let you delete anything, right? Perhaps they can obtain valuable information, more of it, by not allowing anyone to delete anything. They want to know as much as they can. Donna, what precisely was it that you typed into the computer that you wanted to delete?"

Donna shrugged, feeling slightly embarrassed and worried. "Oh, you know. Just a few names on my mind."

Looking suspicious, the Doctor pressed, "What names?"

The ginger looked down. "Names that probably had value to whatever these aliens are. Names of your companions. Your whole 'John Smith' alias."

"So they know you're connected to me," the Doctor nodded. "But it's like they already knew that."

"DOCTOR," the Dalek's voice broke across the sounds of toilets flushing and hands being washed. Though it wasn't in the bathroom, it was certainly nearby.

"I think we need to investigate that Dalek," Amy said. "If it's not real, it can't really hurt us, can it? The beams won't actually kill?"

"Too risky," the Doctor said with a shake of his head. "Amy, no matter what you do, please don't go throw yourself in front of that thing. I tell you, it's a killing machine, merciless. It will kill you in a heartbeat, and then I won't be able to say 'I told you so.'"

"But it's not a real Dalek, is it?" Rory asked. "It's a projection. Does that make it real?"

"Aliens have more advanced technology than humans do, in general," the Doctor replied.

River nodded in agreement. "We don't know what it can do."

"DONNA," said the Dalek.

"Yes, I know you're out there," the Doctor snapped. "You know, I bet I could use the sonic screwdriver to mess up the waves of energy that are allowing the Dalek projection on Earth. Also, try throwing something at it. That also might disrupt the feed."

"DONNA," the Dalek said again.

"Wait a minute," Donna said, feeling suddenly very stupid.

"What? It said the same thing," the Doctor replied carelessly, and then he too realized. "No, wait. He said your name. Donna."

"Yeah, he said that two times already," Amy agreed. "Those aliens probably already know our names. It'll be saying my name next, and then Rory and River. Are we going to go or not?"

"But it said Doctor," Donna said, her gaze fixing on the Doctor.

"And then it said Donna," the Doctor agreed, looking back into the ginger's eyes.

"And it meant..." there was some hesitance before they both spoke at the same time. "The Doctor Donna."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who theme...

Okay, so first off, I apologize that this update took so long! These chapters take so long to write because I'm like the slowest writer ever, but in addition to that, school is pretty hectic. Lots of homework, lots of studying, lots of everything. And it's only the first week back too! AGH SOMEBODY HELP ME I'M DYING.

Anywho (get it? HAHAHA. Sorry. I think something's wrong with me), apologies if this chapter was a bit slow or uninteresting. The NEXT chapter is when more companions will appear! I can tell everyone's excited.

I'm not sure if people like it when I reply to their reviews, but I'm going to do that because you all are amazing and I want to thank you for taking the time and leaving a comment behind!

Thank you to everyone who followed/favorited this story! It really means a lot to me! It's super awesome!

 **LuckyBuzzie:** I'm so glad you're enjoying this story and that you think it's great! I realize you left that review several chapters ago, so I hope that you still maintain the same opinion! Rose will definitely appear some time in the story. It might be in later chapters, though. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it!

 **dm1:** Seeing your reviews makes me super happy! Like, seriously. Unbelievably happy. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it, and you're awesome.

 **Cubscouter:** Thank you so much! That is a huge compliment, and seeing it really made my day. I'm glad your finding this story authentic, as that was what I was aiming for! Haha, I didn't really think about the title. When publishing the first chapter, I was super creative and came up with nothing. Then I was thinking about the plot and the characters, and I decided that Currently Untitled could work as a temporary title. Because, you know, the aliens are currently unidentified? I don't know. I guess one could interpret the meaning of the title, but originally I didn't intend for Currently Untitled to be the permanent name. If you have any title suggestions, please let me know! I hope you're still enjoying this story. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

 **seraphblades-and-wands:** Yup, the Twelfth Doctor will make an appearance in future chapters. Can't give a precise one, though. I'm kind of terrified, though. It's going to be fun but difficult writing scenes with three Doctors in it...that's kind of why I separated them just for now...John and Matt Smith or the Doctors will get back together soon. It's definitely strange to think of the Doctor as over 900 years old, considering his looks...;). I'm glad you enjoyed this, and hope you still are!

And that visual guide, I finished it super fast because it was really interesting. And then I reread it. There were some things about Doctor Who that - shockingly - I didn't know about. And it was nice to read, because there was information about classic Who, which I don't really know much about. But it definitely is complete. The Christmas special has me even more psyched for the season to come! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

 **:** Good, I'm glad my reference was subtle but noticeable! I'm glad you enjoyed this story, and hope that it's still as good! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

 **Zerousy:** I'm glad you like this! And plot twist is good...right? Like, suspense? Well, unless it's really dramatic and then you don't know what happened to the characters because you have to wait a whole YEAR until you can find out. Like Doctor Who. (And for any Percy Jackson fans, the end of Mark of Athena before House of Hades came out.) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

 **Wizarding Whovian:** Thank you for the compliment! And thanks for reading and reviewing!

 **The Daleks' Advocate:** Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you...deep breath. Sorry, I ran out of figurative breath, if you know what I mean. And also I'm afraid that if I went on I'd sound like Carnation. But seriously. Thank you so much! Seeing your review made me so happy! And you're right about Donna and River knowing each other from the library. I think I will address that some time in the next few chapters, but thanks for pointing that out! I love your title suggestion, too. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and I really hope you enjoyed this update!


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

"So, these Daleks." Carnation attempted to strike up another conversation, even as she ran alongside the Doctor, who was frantically pointing his strange blue screwdriver thing around and earning more than a few odd looks from people passing by. They were on the fourth floor, having gone to the lobby and re-entered the lift.

"Yes, what about them?" he asked in a very distracted manner, stopping so suddenly that Carnation almost toppled on top of him (not that she would've minded). He examined a reading on the device his hands, frowning at it a bit. "Strange. I don't believe there's actually a Dalek here. The screwdriver was picking up readings of alien life forms, but now that it's close enough to identify, it's saying its not Dalek."

"It could be whatever other alien that's here," Carnation suggested.

"Perhaps," he agreed, but then shook his head. "No, no. It can't be. These aren't the same readings as before. This alien species, it's almost familiar. It's like I've encountered this before. But all the clues that we've gotten, it doesn't add up to this race of creatures."

"What is the device saying?" Carnation asked. She figured she shouldn't refer to the object as the strange blue screwdriver thing, as it might offend the Doctor.

"My sonic screwdriver?" the Doctor confirmed.

"Yes, that," Carnation nodded. "Is it called a sonic screwdriver? Well, obviously it is, because you just called it that, but I didn't know that before. Is it really sonic? Or do you just call it that because - oh, you're glaring at me so I'd better shut up now. Sorry."

"Yes, it's my sonic screwdriver," the Doctor said. "And the trail we've been following...it's not alien, per se, but it's not completely human either."

"So like what?" asked Carnation. "Like you? I mean, I know you're not human, but you definitely don't look alien."

"Like me," the Doctor agreed, but he didn't seem to be listening to his pink-haired companion. He was looking down the hallway, as if he could see through the wall at the very end of it. He looked almost surprised, as if the thought he was having was near impossible. "Or like someone else I used to know."

* * *

 _The Doctor Donna._

The name sent explosions through Donna's mind, wracking her body in unpleasantly warm shudders.

A memory, a memory of the worst moment of Donna's life, came ricocheting from the depths of her brain. Even though she couldn't remember any of her adventures with the Doctor before today, it was like her brain had still tried to push this remembrance of this moment down, deep into a crevice of her brain where it would never be found.

And now it was resurfacing, and remembering the moment where it all ended for Donna somehow hurt even more than all the pain she felt at the words, _Doctor Donna._

* * *

 _"Oh, my God," came her voice from a haze of pain, but she wasn't in the bathroom with the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor and his friends. She was in the Tardis. They'd just saved the universe from the Daleks and Davros. For one moment she'd been the most important woman in the universe. But now the Doctor was staring at her with his impossibly sad eyes, eyes filled with all the knowledge that currently swirled around in her mind, and she knew this was the end._

 _But it couldn't be. She refused to accept it, even as he said, "Do you know what's happening?"_

 _And she did know what's happening. All those times with the Doctor, when she didn't understand what he was saying or what was going on and had desperately wanted to, and the one time she didn't want to know what was happening, she actually did. It was so unfair. She didn't want this. She wanted to continue to travel with him, the Doctor and the Doctor Donna._

 _"Yeah," she managed._

 _And he said what she'd already known. "There's never been a human Time Lord metacrisis before now. And you know why."_

No, no, please no, _Donna pleaded in her mind, the only clear thought through the swirling mass of confused information in her head. All that knowledge, gained over centuries, in her mind, her mind that was not even half a century old. She couldn't take it. She knew it. But she was the Doctor Donna. She could do this, she could survive and still be his companion._

 _"Because there can't be," she said. "I want to_ _stay."_

 _He wanted her to stay to. She knew how lonely he was; as each companion left, and especially when watching Rose Tyler kiss his metacrisis self, she'd seen how truly lost he was, how much he hated to let his companions go. Surely, she, the last one, the one who wanted to stay, surely he'd let her stay?_

 _"Look at me, Donna, look at me," the Doctor commanded, gently, carefully._

 _She was on the brink of tears, but she refused to cry. If she cried, then it would all be over. She was shaking. "I was going to be with you forever."_

 _"I know," he replied, and it was so difficult not to cry, because he wasn't going to let her stay, he wasn't going to let her stay, he wasn't going to let her stay._

 _"The rest of my life, traveling in the Tardis," she said, reciting words that she had told herself hundreds of time, the words she'd said to herself every time the Doctor left her after one of their adventures. "The Doctor Donna. No. Oh my god. I can't go back." Because if she went back to her old life, without the Doctor in it - everything would be different. She'd miss out on so much, she'd never be able to - "Don't make me go back. Doctor, please, please don't make me go back."_

 _She was crying now, pleading with him. Practically collapsing on top of him as he held her up, still looking so sorrowful._

 _"Donna," he said her name. Not the Doctor Donna. Just Donna. "Oh, Donna Noble. I am so sorry. But we had the best of times."_

 _"No." He would not, he wasn't going to do it! He couldn't. He wouldn't. There was no way at all. He was the Doctor. Surely he'd figure something out, using everything he knew._

 _But everything he knew, she knew it too. And she could see that there was no way out of the inevitable. She would lose more than just the knowledge of a Time Lord. She'd lose all her amazing experiences, but most of all, she would lose her friend._

 _"The best. Goodbye."_

 _"No, no, no. Please. Please. No. No." Unintelligible pleas fell from her mouth. And everything was on fire as her mind seemed to melt right out of her body and everything became blissfully silent once more._

* * *

Except everything wasn't silent. And the pain hadn't gone away. Her mind was still on fire, and it hurt like hell.

Someone was shaking her shoulder, a voice she didn't recognize. "Donna, Donna, are you okay?"

Other voices, filled with concern, filled her ears as well.

"Doctor, what's happening?" came one.

The burning momentarily subsided; Donna could see a curly haired woman looking down at her in concern.

 _River Song,_ a voice told her. _From the library._

"You're River Song," she gasped out. "From the library. You - you d - "

"Shh," a second voice, one she recognized as the eleventh Doctor's, hushed her immediately, shooting a worried glance at River. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"The Doctor Donna - I remembered," she said.

"Well, yes, I know you remembered everything about me," the Doctor agreed.

"No, but I know everything, everything you know now," Donna said. "Before, I just remembered you - everything we'd done together, but I didn't remember being the Doctor Donna. And now I do. And now...it hurts. Oh my god."

The Doctor's eyes filled with sorrow. Though she was not looking at the same face that had taken her memories in the Tardis so long ago, she still saw the same thing, and she feared that she would once again forget everything about the Doctor.

"You're not wiping my memory again, Spaceman," she managed to joke lightly.

"Not yet, at least," he muttered under his breath, earning a light slap on the shoulder from River.

"Where are the other two - Amy and Rory the not sacrificial lamb?"

Both the Doctor and River managed weak smiles. "Amy and Rory the not sacrificial lamb?" the Doctor repeated, sharing a baffled look with his wife.

"I think you've got something confused," River agreed. "Oh my, your forehead is hot."

"Stay here," the Doctor added. "River and I've got a plan to deal with that Dalek.

"DOCTOR...DONNA," the voice of the Dalek said right on cue.

"But Amy and Rory?" Donna asked again, struggling to look over the shoulders of the Doctor and Donna, looking for the redhead and the non-sacrificial lamb.

"I'm sorry," River said, looking genuinely concerned. "But who exactly are Amy and Rory?"

"I've never heard of them," the Doctor agreed. "We'll be back soon, and when we return, do tell us about these mysterious people who've apparently gone missing." He gave her a weak grin, clapped his hands, and then held out his elbow to River in a gentlemanly fashion. "Shall we?"

"Oh, how polite," River replied with a barely suppressed smile. "After you."

"No, no," the Doctor said with a shake of his head. "Ladies first."

Bickering lightly, the couple vanished from the bathroom stall, leaving Donna alone and more confused than ever.

* * *

"The Dalek has been a success," the Brain's daughter announced with a wide grin on her human-like face. "She knows everything - everything about the Doctor, all his knowledge. We've got a motherhood of new information. Once we've penetrated her mind and uploaded it all..."

"We're unstoppable," the Brain agreed, grinning in a rather malicious fashion.

An attendant ran up to them, a human wearing a gray uniform who'd recently been Gathered by the Gatherers.

"Sir," he said in a robotic voice. "Removal operations successful. Doctor companions waiting for further processing."

"Excellent work," the Brain said. "We're one step closer to our goal.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who theme...

ENDLESS APOLOGIES FOR SUCH A LATE UPDATE! A lot was going on, and I was also updating some of my other fanfiction and trying to brainstorm different possibilities for what was happening in this chapter. Figuring out the whole mysterious disappearance was a bit difficult, but I think I've got a legitimate reason, hopefully!

I hope this chapter was enjoyable, and I once again apologize for not updating sooner. I definitely hope this chapter was intriguing, and not too confusing or anything...

Thanks for reading! I appreciate any feedback.

 **The Dalek's Advocate:** Thank you! I try my best to include some humorous aspects to each chapter, and it's good to know that the funny moments stand out. I feel like this chapter was less amusing, but I hope there were still some humorous moments. Poor Rory, the non-sacrificial lamb...and as for poor Captain Jack, I'm still working out his reaction to a reunion with the Doctor and his companions...

I'm going to deal with Carnation's view of the Dalek in the next chapter, as the characters still haven't faced the Dalek, who is very polite because it refrained from entering the ladies' room. Yes, she's technically not a companion. I've been doing some research as to what qualifies someone as a companion - do they just have to accompany the Doctor on one of his adventures, or does he have to ask them to travel with him? What do you think?

Thank you so much for your reviews and support! Much appreciated. I'll continue to respond to reviews, I think. I actually really like being able to respond to feedback. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **Zerousy:** Hmm, I'm not sure if Clara's going to be inside the Dalek, but I see where you're coming from. I guess that would add an interesting level to the plot...anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing.

 **WizardingWhovian:** Haha. I totally agree with Neville's quote. Why does everything happen to him? I am sad to say that I do not watch Sherlock, despite my friends' constant pestering that I will enjoy it and should definitely watch it. I'm thinking about starting to watch it, because all my friends really love it, and I generally enjoy all of the fandoms they're in. But thanks, I'm glad you like this story! It's always good to know that.

So, for the 10th Doctor, his timeline is this: it's after Donna is no longer his companion, and he's been traveling alone. It's before he regenerates, obviously. Martha is here because the Doctor, having sensed a large and mysterious alien force in London, contacted and recruited Martha to help him figure out what it was, so that's why she's there. For Martha, it's been several years since she'd last seen the Doctor, and she's settling into a quieter life. I hope that clears up their timeline for you, but if you have any more questions, please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them.

I will definitely bring in Twelve and Clara at some point, probably within the next five chapters if all goes to plan. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

John/Doctor ran through the throngs of costumers congregated in the hallways - he and Carnation, who ran behind him, clutching her high heels and looking extremely cross, were hot on the trail of whatever had shocked the Doctor.

"I don't understand," he muttered. "It shouldn't be a surprise, but..."

"What - what are we running around for now?" gasped Carnation. "Oh, I lost one of my shoes back there - I've only got one now - I'm awfully angry, those shoes were ridiculously expensive, more than I had - is it really this urgent? What about the Dalek thing? What is a Dalek?"

"I told you," the Doctor responded distractedly, halting in his tracks, much like he'd done several times during their frantic goose chase.

Carnation leaned against a wall, sides heaving, pushing a strand of pink hair out of her red and sweaty face. "No, you really haven't. Something you hate, obviously. First day on the job, and this happens, of course. I mean, I enjoy all this excitement, but it's honestly - " she didn't finish the sentence, gulping in a huge breath.

"Carnation - that was your name, right?" the Doctor asked, clarifying. Upon seeing the slightly offended look on her face, he hastily explained himself. "No, no, I do know you're name. It's just, a lot is going on at once. Not that that's nothing new. But. Well. Yes. That's my excuse. Anyway, Carnation, the Dalek that's here - do you see a Dalek?"

"Well, I don't know what a Dalek is, or what it looks like normally, but if that's what the thing is that I saw in the lobby, then yes I must see a Dalek," replied Carnation, huffing slightly. "Although you said it's a hologram, so perhaps it's not an actual Dalek. I'm very confused. I really don't know how anyone can travel with you, you're so confusing."

"One of my charms," the Doctor said, his attention back on his machine.

Carnation, despite the situation, still managed to giggle like a lovestruck teenage girl. " _One_ of them," she agreed.

"But besides that, more importantly, what do you see? Describe the Dalek you saw," the Doctor requested. "While I try to figure out if this thing is actually working correctly, giving me results like this..." he added under his breath, referring to the device in his hands.

"Um, well," Carnation hesitated. "It looks like a salt shaker. It's actually kind of cute. If it wasn't running around yelling 'EXTERMINATE' all the time."

She blushed, embarrassed at calling the Dalek cute.

"It's definitely not," the Doctor decided, giving her an odd look. "It would be the opposite of cute if you knew what it did."

"Well, I don't know what it did," Carnation shot back.

He ignored her. "Come on. Got another signal."

And so the two took off running again.

* * *

Donna Noble wasn't fond of being told what to do, so a bit after the Doctor and River left, she got off of the floor, still a bit disoriented from everything. Her head burned, but the pain had subsided into a dull throb - still hurting, but not like it had been before. She could think straight and logically - and she knew things she hadn't known before. Centuries of knowledge amassed in her brain. She knew the Doctor's real name. She knew who River was, her whole history, being Melody Pond. She felt like she was the Doctor - she could remember a whole life growing up on Gallifrey, a life that she hadn't lived. And with all the Time Lord knowledge, her own memories of being Donna Noble ran along side it - but muted slightly, not as vivid, as if Donna Noble's existence was only a dream...

But she didn't find that important right at that moment.

What was important was figuring out what had happened to the Doctor and River - and also, importantly, Rory and Amy, and Martha, who had also mysteriously disappeared. They had existed. She was sure of it. Amy - she'd been a sassy Scottish redhead, and her husband had been Rory, or Geronimo as he'd been called by the Doctor, and he'd had an odd nose. And River was there daughter. She wasn't sure if she knew this because of the extensive Time Lord knowledge occupying her mind, or if the Ponds had mentioned this fact when she'd spoken with them.

"EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE," the voice of the Dalek reverberated on the shiny white bathroom tiles. Like the rest of Plexel, the bathrooms were spotless, modern, and efficient. "DOCTOR DONNA."

Another flash of pain stabbed at Donna, and she stumbled on her feet, clutching the stall door for support. An Ood appeared before her eyes, and she could hear it speaking, the translator in its hand lighting up yellow, and yet the words it was saying were unintelligible.

"I can't do this," she said, emptiness opening up inside her. "I thought I could. I thought I was safe. Why is it happening now? I was fine before. Oh my god. No. Please."

 _You know why it's happening now,_ a small voice spoke up. _You weren't the Doctor Donna before, but now you are, and there's never been a Human-Time Lord metacrisis before, and you know exactly why._

Her mind swirled with a million thoughts, a million memories that weren't hers, a million facts that she didn't know before. But even among the archives of wisdom in her brain, she couldn't find the answer she was looking for.

* * *

The Eleventh Doctor, River by his side, stood in front of the Dalek.

"DOCTOR," the metallic voice said, emotionless.

"Yes, that's me," the Doctor said, his voice harsh. "You aren't a real Dalek, are you?"

"EXTERMINATE."

The imposing metal creature was scanned, and with a flourish, the Doctor examined his results.

"Just what I thought," he said, smiling grimly. "A holographic image. Now, why did these mysterious aliens send a holographic image down? They must know about the Doctor Donna, unless the usage of the phrase is totally coincidental, which is extremely unlikely."

"EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE," the Dalek demanded, seeming to almost shake with some kind of indignation. Its eyestalk moved almost wildly, as if it were starting to malfunction. "EXTRICATE. EXTRICATE."

"Why's it saying that?" River whispered in the Doctor's ear, looking over his shoulder as he pointed his sonic screwdriver at it.

"I'm not sure," the Doctor replied. "'Extricate.' These aliens want knowledge, right? So perhaps they mean to extract information, and this is a means to extricate knowledge, or perhaps it's too - " he broke off, clearly realizing something.

River looked at him, wide-eyed. "It's too what? It's too what, Doctor?" she asked. "What was that woman's name, your companion in the café? She disappeared about the time the Dalek showed up - are the aliens, whoever they are, using it to kidnap people?"

"I'm not sure about that either," the Doctor answered. "That's not what I was thinking - and besides, only one person has gone missing so far. Unless those waiters..."

The Dalek interrupted their conversation. "EXTERMINATE. EXTRICATE." It seemed to be having a battle with itself. It's head began to spin around in dizzying circles. "EXTERMI-EXTRI-EXTERMI-EXTRI-EXTERMINEXTRICATE."

Its weapon went off, shooting a blue ray of deadly energy out.

"It's not harmful," the Doctor reassured River. "It's not real."

He was promptly proved incorrect as an unfortunate passerby was hit by the bolt. Her body lit up blue, revealing a glowing image of her skeleton, before she burst to dust from the high voltage that had just hit her body. Shockingly, the hordes continued as if nothing had happened, and a woman had not just been vaporized on the spot.

The Doctor cleared his throat, adjusting his bowtie nervously. "Okay, I was perhaps that statement was untrue."

River gave him a tightlipped smile. "I believe you mean wrong."

"No!" he replied, looking genuinely offended. "I'm never wrong."

His wife rolled her eyes at him. "You'll find you're wrong about that."

"Stop flirting, you two," Donna's voice came from behind them. They might've jumped and turned around, but they were wary about the Dalek, whose head continued to spin around, utterly confused as to whether or not it was supposed to say exterminate or extricate.

"I thought I told you to stay - never mine." He looked resigned. "Nobody listens to me anymore."

Another blue ray lit up the space. Luckily, there was no casualty this time - it hit a wall, and sent it crumbling, but just as nobody had reacted to the woman's death, nobody passing by even spared a glance at the damaged wall.

"Alright, enough with this," the Doctor decided. "If this is a hologram, then I should be able to disrupt the feed."

"But if it's a hologram, then surely it's weapon is useless?" Donna said. "Not that you should get rid of it - better safe than sorry. But nobody's reacting to any of the damage it's caused, or - " she flinched as several more bolts, in rapid succession, were fired from the Dalek, blowing more people to dust and shattering a window. "So what if it's just a hologram, like the Dalek itself?"

"EXTERMINATE EXTRICATE EXTERMINATE EXTRICATE."

"I'm getting tired of saying this," the Doctor snapped, his screwdriver glowing blue, "but I don't know. And normally I do know. So stop making me feel stupid, because I'm not stupid."

"And you're not wrong," added River, watching as the Dalek hologram began to flicker as the connection was disrupted.

"EX-EX-EX-EX-EXTERMI-EX-EX-EX," it stuttered.

"OW!" the Doctor yelped, dropping his screwdriver to the ground and clutching his hand.

"What happened?" both Donna and River asked at the same time, looking extremely concerned.

The Dalek, which had been faded, suddenly became more solid. Its head stopped spinning. It fixed its glowing eyestalk on Donna. "THE DOCTOR DONNA HAS BEEN LOCATED. EXTRICATE. EXTRICATE!"

It began to move forward at an alarming speed, and though Donna and River tried to drag the Doctor away, he was very determined to save his screwdriver.

"It'll kill us!" River shouted, trying to force some sense into her husband. "What good will we be then?"

"DOCTOR DONNA, THE RUNAWAY BRIDE, THE MOST IMPORTANT WOMAN IN THE UNIVERSE," the Dalek blared.

Donna screamed. The pain. It was unbearable, horrible in the most awful way.

And as the Dalek bared down on her and the others, her vision flashing red, several thing happened at once. Perhaps she was hallucinating...

The Dalek's gun was at work again, aimed at River, and the Doctor was shouting something angry, and River was also shouting something, and everything was loud, and River was certainly going to die - but then someone else was there, pushing her out of the way, lighting up with blue energy as he took the blow for the curly-haired woman, and he was decidedly _not_ bursting into dust, but falling to the ground.

And Donna was expecting the Dalek to shoot again when it saw its shot had not made its mark, but it was flickering, and then it disappeared, and then there was Carnation, cheering and saying something that sounded like, "I knew those shoes were good for something!" and the Doctor - her Doctor - standing there with a very surprised expression on his face, staring at her.

And someone else was saying very loudly, "Doctor, what in the universe just happened?" Donna was pretty sure that she didn't recognize the voice, but there wasn't much she could do, because her world was on fire, and everything was slipping from her control.

 _I am Donna. No, I am the Doctor,_ her thoughts whirled in confusion, and they accompanied her as her consciousness spiraled into black.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well, I hope this chapter was enjoyable and believable, and didn't feel rushed. Oh, and Doctor Who theme. Dooooweeeeeoooooooo.

 **LuckyBuzzie:** So sorry I didn't respond to your review last time! But I'm really glad to know that you're still enjoying this, and hopefully liked this chapter too. Glad you like the way I differentiate between the Doctors, too - I've been slacking off on that, but that's mostly because there's only been one Doctor per scene, but things will be changing! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **The Daleks' Advocate:** So, I hoped this answered some of your questions, regarding the Dalek. I feel like I let some people down by having the Dalek just be a hologram, but I couldn't work having it actually be hiding someone - originally I planned to have Clara be in the Dalek, somehow, but it just didn't work. As for Amy and Rory, you'll find out about them later! ;) And it's not going to look much better for the Doctor and his companions, at least for a little while. MWAHAHA.

I suppose that's true, regarding the companion definition. However, I went with the 'is working with the Doctor' as the definition of a companion, and went ahead an allowed Carnation to see the Dalek all the others were seeing. I'm hoping that her 'companionship' will come into play later in this story. But I agree, and I can see what you mean with Clara.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all your support.

 **seraphblades-and-wands:** Thank you! It's good to know that last chapter was suspenseful enough! I'm afraid I can't say the same for this one, really. Your welcome, and I'm relieved to know that you're enjoying this story. And thanks for the cookies! They're tasty. Want some? :) Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **WizardingWhovian:** Hmm, what did happen to Amy and Rory? I'm going to explain what exactly happened with them in future chapters, and as for River's existence, I'll tell you this: they weren't exactly erased from time...it's more like they were never in the Doctor's timeline. Although, I suppose that brings up the question of how River could be born on the TARDIS. More will be revealed later! Expect some new introductions in the next chapter! I'm really excited and looking forward to writing that. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **Zerousy:** Thank you. I'm glad you find this story interesting, and hope that it continues to keep your interest. Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

"Is she all right?"

"What happened?"

"Dunno, she just fainted, collapsed."

"Her forehead's burning up."

"Doctor, what's going on?"

"WHOA! HE'S NOT DEAD I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD BUT HE'S NOT THIS IS SO SCARY. Oh, but he's actually kinda cute...OMIGOD WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?"

Words, spoken by voices filled with concern, floated in a haze through Donna's consciousness. She strained her eyes, desperate to see something, but she was trapped in a vast nothingness, her vision tinged black and red and her senses muffled. Her head burned, and she could see the Ood again, warning her of what was to come, before its eyes glowed red and it raised its translation ball up and brought it to her head.

"What...what's happening?" she finally managed to get out, her tongue feeling as if it had been microwaved several times.

"Shh, she's waking up," came one voice.

"Is the Dalek really gone, though?" asked the voice that Donna recognized as River's.

"It never really was here," said someone else, and then Donna could actually see, faint outlines of the people she hadn't seen in a while or hadn't known before but whom she trusted with her life floating into her vision. The nearest silhouette loomed nearer, and she saw the Doctor - her Doctor - standing there with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his tone just as worried as he looked. "What happened?"

"I could ask the same to you," Donna managed. "What did happen? I came out of the ladies' and there was a Dalek, and then everything happened at once..." Her eyes widened. "Those people who died - that man who threw himself in front of us - are they alright? That wasn't real?"

"Once the Dalek was gone, no, everything wasn't real," the Doctor assured her.

"But it seemed so...realistic," Donna said, relieved and yet feeling the need to protest. She caught sight of the man standing next to him, and her eyes widened further - it was the man she'd seen earlier, on the lift, the one she'd spoken to, and she remembered his name now - "Jack Harkness."

"Ms. Noble," he said politely, making no move to kiss her hand flirtatiously like he'd often done when she was traveling with the Doctor. This caught her off guard a bit.

"It's Mrs. Temple now, but that doesn't matter," Donna replied.

"Is it?" he asked, his voice very soft but rather emotionless, his eyes flat. "How nice."

She realized at that moment that she was on the ground, of course, having just passed out, so she heaved herself upward, to a sitting position. She would've stood up fully, but a gently yet firm hand on her shoulder kept her there. She looked to see the smiling face of River Song.

"Feeling better then?" the blonde asked.

The ginger nodded, and then looked around, hoping that Martha might've returned along with Amy and Rory.

"Amy and Rory still aren't back?" she asked, before remembering, vaguely, that River and Matt/Doctor had forgotten about them.

Everyone narrowed their eyes at her suspiciously; River, both Doctors, Jack, even Carnation, who only did so because everyone else was.

"Who?" asked both Doctors at the same time.

"Never mind," Donna sighed. "Just know that several people've gone missing, and we should definitely find them."

"Speaking of missing people," John/Doctor spoke up, "we need to find Martha, still."

Now he was being stared at suspiciously. "Martha?" Matt/Doctor echoed. "How come suddenly there are all these people going missing? Why didn't I know about this before? And who's Martha? Is she important?"

Both Donna, Jack, and Carnation stared openmouthed as a look of blissful ignorance flitted onto both Doctors' and River's faces.

"I don't know who Martha is, or why she's important," John/Doctor said, shrugging. "But you know us, we've got to save as many people as we can."

"Where to now?" River added. "The Dalek's been defeated. What's our next lead?"

"Well, I think we should head outside," the Matt/Doctor said. "The appearance of the telegraphic Dalek confirms that there must be some sort of ship in the atmosphere, so we'll scan for signals."

John/Doctor nodded, grinning like a little boy on Christmas morning. "And if there is, it's off to the TARDIS for a look."

"Geronimo, then," Matt/Doctor yelled, attracting the attention of several people, who just looked at him strangely.

"I prefer 'allons-y,'" John/Doctor corrected, but nevertheless, the Doctors both ran out together.

"Those boys," River said, smiling and shaking her head in an exasperated manner. "I don't know what I see in them."

"Nobody does," Donna agreed. "That's why everybody can't help but love him."

"Or hate him," Jack added, but it was more to himself than to anybody else.

"So, you're Jack Harkness," River asserted, as if just noticing him when he spoke. She gave him a critical look, before sticking out her hand for him to shake. "I'm River Song. It's good to meet you at last. The Doctor's said a lot of favorable things about you."

"Has he, now?" the immortal man asked, accepting her hand and shaking it firmly. Once again, Donna was slightly thrown off by his lack of flirtation; knowing him, he'd've been flirting with River already, probably Carnation too, while winking and smirking at Donna just to know she was being included as well.

Now...well, Jack had changed since Donna had last seen him...however many years ago it had been. It probably had been even longer for Jack, because he'd been time traveling, maybe. So she shouldn't've been so surprised by the...newness in him, and yet, she was. He was very different from the man she'd known before. Not only with his lack of flirtation, but also in his demeanor, his confidence.

"I'm Jack Harkness," he was saying by way of introduction to River and Carnation, offering his hand to the pink-haired woman, who giggled madly.

"I'm Carnation Schwann, but you can call me Carnation," she trilled, squeezing his hand firmly and reluctantly letting go when she found that she couldn't hold onto it any longer.

"Only Jack Harkness?" Donna cut across. "I thought you were a captain of some sort."

He shrugged in response. "It's been a while since I've been captain of anything."

"What's been going on with you then?" she pressed.

He shrugged again, a very un-Jack-like thing to do. "Oh, you know. Been keeping low for a while now - left Torchwood about a century or so ago - decided to keep to myself mostly."

"Really," Donna said, her voice a bit disbelieving. "Well, that's too bad. I'm sure they were lost without you."

"Thank you for the sarcasm," he replied, giving her a bit of a strange look.

"I wasn't being sarcastic."

"Oh." He paused, shifting, refusing to meet her gaze. To their right, River, feeling that the two might want to speak without interruption, used one of her many devices, similar to one of Jack's, to look through an index of various alien species in hopes to identify the one they were facing. Carnation, for lack of anything to do, watched, and made River's task even more difficult by constantly asking questions and trying to be helpful.

"So, I see you remembered everything, then," Jack spoke at last. "And you're not burning up."

"It would seem so."

"Should we have followed the Doctors, do you think?"

"No. They didn't tell us to. Besides, I think our Doctor's a bit worried about my health."

"Hmm."

With her vast amounts of Time Lord knowledge, Donna knew everything, or everything the Doctor knew, which was a lot. But she didn't know what was wrong with Jack, what had happened to him, if he was still the same and just hiding under layers of disguise...

And she didn't know what had happened to Amy, Rory, and Martha - frankly, she was surprised she could even remember them now that the Doctors had both forgotten them. She didn't know what the aliens were called or what they were, or if everything was going to work out and if she'd get to go travel with the Doctor again, or if she'd forget him again. She didn't want to think about that possibility.

"You know something about these aliens, don't you," she spoke up again after a good moment of silence.

"Yes," he relented. "Probably should've said something as soon as I saw the Doctor, but then there was the whole Dalek ray, plus you collapsing and practically catching fire, and then the Doctors were all running outside at the same time, so I figured, why bother? He never listens."

Donna was taken back by Jack's words. "What do you mean, he never listens? You can't mean the Doctor. He always listens."

"Does he, though?" Jack's words were hollow and bitter, filled with regret and a hint of anger, and she was alarmed by his resentment. "Did he listen to you? I'm sure you begged him not to let you go or to wipe your memories. But clearly he didn't listen, if you've forgotten him."

"But I didn't forget him," Donna tried to protest, but she realized he had a point. _It's true. You asked the Doctor not to take your memories - you begged, cried, pleaded - and he did anyway._

"Everyone to the TARDIS!" the Doctors both came barging back through the crowd, both clutching their sonic screwdrivers.

"It was a success, then?" River asked.

"Yes," Matt/Doctor nodded. "It's a faint signal - the ship's far out in space - but it's there nonetheless, and there are lifeforms aboard. This'll get us closer to finding out who they are and what they want."

"Donna, you're feeling a bit better?" John/Doctor asked. She nodded, thinking, _even though they may not always listen, they do care about their companions._

"But before we go, Doctor," Donna said, "Jack's got something to say."

The ex-captain looked immensely put-out by all the attention that was suddenly turned onto him.

"Right," he said with a sigh. "I've got their name, I know who they are, but..." now he showed them what seemed to a rune of some sort, with an intricate pattern of shapes carved into it, gleaming slightly in the lights of the lobby, flickering darkly each time someone passed by within a certain range.

Matt/Doctor, who was nearest to Jack, reached forward for the rune, scanning with his sonic screwdriver as he took it with his hand.

"What is it?" asked Carnation eagerly. "Who are they? What do they want?"

Suddenly, the rune vanished from the Doctor's hand, as if vaporized, and he dropped his sonic screwdriver as if he'd been burned by it.

"Not important, you'll find out shortly, and as for what we want, many things, but right now, we want you to come with us," said the calm and cool voice of Kiara Washington. She was no longer the crisp and welcoming Vice President Donna had encountered earlier. She was dressed in gray, her eyes cold and emotionless.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**...Doctor Who theme...

Yes! Another chapter done! I hope it was an enjoyable read. Don't worry, more characters will appear shortly...

 **The Daleks' Advocate:** Haha, yes, I can definitely see Donna coming back from the grave just to shout at them for letting her burn up. Hopefully, there will be no need for that. We'll see about the Doctor's idea of what to do with Donna's memories, and I agree, I hope that it doesn't happen. Although I have the power to make that happen. It really was heart-wrenching to watch in the show.

I'm sorry for the typos - I proof read and I'm fairly good about catching my mistakes, but there are always the ones that slip by, and then later when I read again I always notice them and it bugs me - I may go through just to edit them out. I should probably do that, or proof read every single chapter until I have them memorized by heart just to make sure they're gone. I should also probably get a beta. But I'm still glad you found this intriguing and exciting, and I hope this was enjoyable too, as well as longer. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **Chimmicherry:** Thank you! I love Carnation too, even though she does some annoying things, and I think she likes hanging out with the tenth Doctor, even if he may not agree. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

 **Zerousy:** MWAHAHA. Actually, I'm really glad that these chapters are keeping you interested! I love cliffhangers - when I'm the one writing them...but here's some more! Thank you for reading and reviewing!


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